The Story of Us
by jasonxpiper510
Summary: After a brutal break-up, Piper enlists the help of star quarterback Jason Grace to prove to her ex-boyfriend that she most definitely moved on. What's supposed to be an innocent act, turns into something more as Jason and Piper realize how much they're meant for each other (with the help of their crazy friends of course!). Rated M for language. AU. Had to re-upload, sorry!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys. This is my new story about Jason and Piper from the Heroes of Olympus series. I've had this idea for a while and it's in an alternate universe (no demigod trouble), so we'll see where this takes me :). Reviews are appreciated. And much to my despair, I do not own Heroes of Olympus, nor any of the amazing characters. It's all Uncle Rick's!

 **Chapter 1:**

Jason looked at Reyna and he couldn't process what he was hearing.

"Jason? I said… Well, I'm really sorry," Reyna said with sympathy evident in her brown eyes.

It was a crisp, Tuesday afternoon in the fall and Jason and Reyna were at their usual hangout spot, which was a local park. He sat on the swing, slowly rocking himself back and forth, trying to understand why Reyna, his best friend and now ex-girlfriend, wanted to end their relationship after only going out for one summer.

"Can I ask why?" Jason said.

Reyna sighed. "I don't know. At first I thought I'd be happier being your girlfriend, but I feel like we're only going out because that's what people expected of us."

 _That's true,_ Jason thought, _everyone did expect us to get together._ Jason had known Reyna since they were toddlers. For as long as he could remember, Jason and Reyna had done everything together: took their first swimming lessons together, went to the same kindergarten class, rode their bikes together until Reyna got a car for her 16th birthday, cut their first classes together—and even got disciplined together when they got caught by their parents. By the time they reached high school, he heard the hushed whispers from his friends. They were wondering when Jason Grace, their school's famed quarterback, and Reyna Ramirez, the captain of the women's soccer team and class president, were finally going to date. Initially, he didn't want to date her, being afraid of driving a notch in their friendship. But after years of insistence and convincing from others, Jason supposed it was only natural of him to start dating his best friend.

"And besides," Reyna continued wistfully, interrupting Jason's thoughts. "I don't feel like we're together because we love each other…"

Jason snapped his head up to look at Reyna. "I do love you, Reyna."

She laughed, but with a trace of sadness. "I know you do Jason, and I love you too. But… we're not _in_ love with each other. Do you understand me?"

Jason kept rocking back and forth on the swing, not wanting to meet Reyna's eyes. If he had to be honest to himself like Reyna was with herself, he supposed she was right. It had been a wonderful three months with Reyna. He had enjoyed kissing her, holding her hand, taking her on dates, and he did find her really attractive. For a little bit, he thought all seemed great. But when he really thought about it, he knew he didn't feel any sparks when they were together. And well, weren't there supposed to be sparks or some magic or some out-of-this-world experience with the girl you love?

Reyna got up from the slide she was sitting on and crossed over to Jason. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "I really hope we can stay best friends still." Jason heard the sincerity and fear of rejection mixed together in her request.

"Of course Rey," Jason said, taking her hand and holding it tight for the final time.

They stayed like this for another few minutes in silence, both of them coming to terms with their situation. Finally, Reyna broke away. "Hey Jase, sorry, but I have to go now. I'm having relatives over tonight and I should be home. Did you want a ride home?"

He shook his head and tried to smile at her. He didn't feel like riding in the same car with her at the moment, even though his house was a bit far. At the same time, he also didn't want to ruin the last non-awkward bits of friendship with her by rejecting her polite offer. Even if she was his ex-girlfriend, he still didn't want to lose her forever. "Don't worry about me. I can walk home. Thanks though Reyna."

She smiled lightly and before he could protest, she pecked a quick kiss on his cheek. Jason watched her walk away to her car and within a few minutes, he was all by himself at the park.

Jason sighed. He stared up at the sky, wishing he could be someone else right now. Recalling what Reyna said, he was slowly coming to grips that they weren't together anymore. Being with her, and especially their break-up, had made it more obvious that they weren't meant for each other. However, it still didn't mean that he wasn't hurt. There were some genuine feelings of happiness he had with Reyna over the summer and a very small part of him still secretly wondered that if they were to stay together longer, would he had loved her in that way eventually? He would never know now.

Once Jason felt the cold, oncoming evening air, he got up and started walking home, feeling more exhausted than he should be at only 6 pm. All around him, some couples were jogging on the streets, people were walking their dogs, and some kids were getting ready to go back inside their houses after an afternoon of play. Despite living in New Rome—a respectable-sized, bustling city—his neighborhood was actually quite large and could be teeming with activity during peak hours. Now everything was settling down, and no one knew that walking down the street, someone named Jason Grace was heartbroken. He thought about what his mom and dad would say when they found out he wasn't dating Reyna anymore. His mom of course was ecstatic when she found out that her son was dating Reyna; both moms were really close. Plus, his mom was the type of woman who lavished on appearances and reputation. Hearing the "power couple" break up would probably disappoint her, Jason guessed. As much as he loved his mom, she was naively superficial, and he now dreaded going home even more since he knew he had to break the news to his mom eventually. Jason also wondered what his dad would say, who was currently working in Seattle for business. He presumed his dad might not care one way or another, since he rarely saw him in the first place. Being Zeus Grace, one of the country's top aircraft designers (and millionaire), made him highly unavailable to even his own family. Jason was used to it and the attention that came from it, but still, he wished his dad were around more often to be there like any other father—like his other best friend's parents. Jason figured the only one that probably would have understood him was his sister Thalia, but she was in college now and the last time they spoke, she already had tons of assignments to do so a visit from her wasn't an option. Although they bickered a lot when she still lived in the house and they didn't see each other as much as they used to, she was still the person that Jason could always rely on no matter what. Missing her more than ever, he decided he would probably call her some time tomorrow.

He kept walking home with his mind in a daze. In fact, he didn't know that someone was calling him from behind.

"Hey! Excuse me!"

The hooded girl ran after him. "Hey, wait up! For the love of Olympus HEY!"

Jason was still thinking about Reyna when someone crashed into him and both he and the stranger fell to the ground. Jason groaned. Who the _hell_ ran into him? "What the—"

"Oh FINALLY I've got your attention! And would you kindly please get off of me?" the girl mumbled from underneath him.

Confused, he stood up and peered at the girl still sprawled on the sidewalk. He knew he'd seen this girl before… _Oh yeah, at school,_ Jason thought, seeing her trademark hood.

He watched her recollect herself as she took off her hood. It took all of his willpower not to gasp out loud.

Jason had never seen this girl up close before; just random glimpses of her walking down the hallway or across the campus plaza. A few times he might have also seen her at parties. Even then, he had only really seen her with her hood up as if to not attract attention. But seeing her up close for the first time revealed, Jason was literally at a loss for words. Her choppy hair, which looked like it was cut by a five-year-old and held up in a loose ponytail, was a luscious, deep chocolate brown. She wore simple dark blue jeans, sneakers, and a relatively oversized light blue snowboarding jacket that went well with her fair slightly-coppered skin. But the one feature that he recognized the most were her eyes. Unlike Reyna, where they were a deep shade of brown, he literally couldn't tell what color this girl's eyes were. It seemed that for one second it was brown, but then it turned green, and then to blue. She wore no make-up, and Jason knew she would never need it. Jason could even catch a whiff of her perfume, which smelled like fresh strawberries and raspberries. Finally forming one coherent thought, the first thing that came to mind was how pretty she was. _No,_ Jason thought, _not pretty._ This girl was seriously beautiful.

"Yeah don't worry. I'm okay, thanks for asking," the girl said as she got up and brushed off some dirt. "I've been calling after you for five minutes you know. You must've been really deep in thought. Sorry to break such concentration."

For some reason, Jason couldn't find his words. Like an idiot, he kept staring at her eyes, trying to pinpoint what color they exactly were.

The girl raised her eyebrows and waved her hand in front of his face. "It's kind of weird that you're staring, but I'll take it as a compliment and assume you think I look nice," she giggled. "I kind of need the ego boost right now… Unless you're looking at my pimple. Then that would suck and I'd crawl under a rock."

Her words seemed to snap him out of his trance. "Er, um, s-sorry. I'm being rude."

"Nah, it's okay. I should be sorry! I totally ran you over when I tripped over that colossal crack (Jason glanced and it looked like a hairline crack)! But hey, you're Jason Grace right?"

"Yeah I am," he answered.

The girl's eyes brightened considerably at his response, which to him made her seem that much more striking. "Oh really huh? YES! Well, Jason Grace, my name is Piper McLean!" At this, she made a Superman-like pose that made Jason smile, despite the earlier events of the day and the overall weirdness of the situation. "You might've seen me around school… Ah, this may sound loony since we just practically met, but I have a favor to ask you."

Jason didn't really know what to say to this. "Um, okay?"

"Alright, well here's the thing. Do you know Dylan Miller?"

In a heartbeat, Jason knew who she was talking about. Dylan Miller was basically the "bad ass" of Goode High School (or so he likes to call himself). This guy always got into fights and cut class just to smoke cigarettes—and other things—in the school parking lot. Jason had even encountered him once a year ago, overhearing how Dylan didn't like "preppy little fairy jocks" like Jason Grace and his best friend Leo Valdez. Jason went up to him and told him to back off, which Dylan sniffed at and left. But what Dylan was probably most famous for was his status as a playboy. He had a reputation of having a new girlfriend every couple of months, and he always boasted about how many girls he slept with and left heartbroken. Jason was always disgusted by this, but for the most part, he simply ignored him since he didn't want to deal with people like that. "Yeah I heard of him. Why do you ask?"

Piper slumped her shoulders and started kicking at the concrete, not really looking him in the eye. For a minute, Jason heard her take a few deep breaths, as if trying to quell some emotions. She looked up at him then, her kaleidoscopic eyes glistening. "Well, this is embarrassing, but um, I actually dated Dylan for about six months. He broke up with me a few days ago."

"Oh," was all Jason could say. Even though he was really tired and wanted to go home, he found himself glued to the spot and sympathizing with her; they were both dumpees after all.

"I know. I told you it was super-mega-ultra-embarrassing."

"But I heard that he was dating Drew Tanaka?"

There was another stretch of awkward silence. Piper looked at him expectedly, waiting for Jason to get the hint. Suddenly, he put two and two together. "Oh. I see."

She sighed and started fiddling with her ponytail. "Yeah. I was really stupid. I should have known that he was cheating on me. He told me that he wanted to keep our relationship on the down low since he knew I don't really like being in the public eye much, and of course it was easy for me to agree. But now I see it was just an excuse. I just didn't want to believe all those nasty rumors, you know? He was my first boyfriend. Even my best friends tried warning me, and telling me that they were really suspicious of him… Finally, I ended up catching the bastard making out with Drew at his house."

Jason stood there, feeling his anger rise a little. He didn't know who Piper really was, but he knew he hated two-timing assholes like Dylan.

"AND _he_ was the one that dumped _me!_ Ahh!" She threw up her hands in frustration and shame.

"Well for what it's worth," Jason tried to comfort her. "He's an idiot for giving you up."

Piper flushed red and punched him jokingly on the arm. "Aw, well thank you. I really appreciate that. But ah… anyway, so here's what I'm asking. Word on the street is that Dylan still thinks that I would just come _crawling_ back to him. He's literally bragging to all his friends that I would run back into his arms in a week if he _wanted_ me! Such a jerk considering he has Drew—but I want to show him that I don't care about him anymore. That I'm totally over him and that I will never, EVER get back with him again. And to do that, I need a boyfriend! And Jason Grace, you just happen to be the best candidate!

He was quiet. "So… you want me to be your boyfriend?"

"Yes, I want you and me to pretend that we're dating! I mean you're good-looking, I heard you're super friendly—hey, you didn't get mad me when I plowed you into the sidewalk! Sorry again by the way. Let's see… you're pretty well-known, considering you're the star quarterback and all so for sure gossip is going to spread and eventually get to Dylan. AND I remember Dylan telling me how he hated preppy little fairy—"

"Yeah I know," he interrupted.

Piper started twiddling her thumbs and smiled nervously. "So, will you help me then?"

Jason thought about it for a moment. Although he really wanted to help her exact revenge on Dylan Miller, Jason was definitely in no condition to jump into another relationship, albeit a fake one. He had just been dumped for Olympus' sakes! And deep down, he still missed Reyna. What he wanted to do now was just relax for a while and remain single; wait for the right girl to come into his life. At the same time though, he also felt a miniscule attraction to this Piper McLean girl, which was ridiculous since he just met her literally ten minutes ago.

"Hmm… your silence isn't really a good sign," Piper said thoughtfully as she stared at him intently. "I'm not surprised though, since you have no idea who I am. Tell you what, I'll give you 'til Friday night to answer. Here's my number!" Piper took out a pen from her jacket pocket and scrawled her information on his hand. "Hey seriously though, if you don't want to do this, it's okay. Thanks for listening to me vent right now anyways; it kind of felt good. But if you do decide to help me, you'll officially be the coolest person ever!"

She flashed a fantastic smile that made Jason's heart skip a beat… or two, or hell, three. "Well Sparky, give it some thought!"

"Sparky—"

"I hope to hear from you! Later!"

With those last words, she jogged away, before Jason could ask her what she meant by "Sparky" or even at least say goodbye. _What a weird girl._

A gust of wind made Jason shiver a little, reminding him how late it had gotten. The sun had already set, with only the orange glow tinting the sky and the streetlights blinking on. He hurried home, wanting to get this day over with and get some sleep. He went inside his house, careful not to stick around to talk to his mother after he greeted her. They didn't need two heartbroken people under the roof.

As soon as Jason walked through the bedroom door, his cellphone rang. _Supreme Commander of Awesomeness,_ it said; in other words, Leo.

Jason flopped on the bed and answered. "Hello?"

"Dude, is it true that you and Reyna broke up?" Jason could hear some clinking and hammering coming from the other end of the phone. Of course Leo would be in his garage tinkering with some projects. That kid could never sit still.

He sighed, covering his face with his pillow. "Yeah," Jason muffled through the material. News travels fast apparently. He could just imagine how his friends were going to be like tomorrow.

"And… Are you okay?"

Jason didn't know if he really wanted to talk. He had never really been one to speak his feelings or show his emotions, learning from his dad that it was important to keep a straight and commanding presence. But Leo was his other best friend besides Reyna. Like Reyna, Leo had also known him since diapers, and were much closer. They were on the football team together for Goode High School; Jason being the quarterback and Leo being his handy wide receiver. They did a lot of things together as well—mainly pranks, complimentary of Leo. While Jason felt he was more on the serious side, Leo was more of a joker, which worked out great since Jason needed to loosen up more and Leo needed to focus sometimes. Jason also frequented Leo's house a lot, appreciating how his parents treated Jason like family. In fact, Jason considered Leo to have the ideal family, in which Leo was very close to both his parents.

If there was one person he could talk to besides Reyna or Thalia, it was definitely Leo. And Jason knew that Leo was trying to be there for him right now in his own quirky way. "Yeah I'm okay, thanks. A little sad, but I don't think Reyna and I were meant to be together anyways."

"What makes you say that?" Leo asked.

"We really just see each other as friends. It had been pretty nice being her boyfriend and all, but when we talked about it, I guess I realized that she wasn't the one for me either."

Leo thought about his friend's words. "Hmm, I see. If that's really how you feel, then what can you do right? Well, I'm sure you'll find the right girl someday then bro. Plus I can be your wingman again!"

Jason's thoughts immediately drifted to the girl he met earlier, Piper McLean, though he didn't know why. Jason removed the pillow from his head and looked at his hand, which still had her number on it. "Mmm… maybe, yeah."

Being Jason's best friend had its perks, and Leo immediately picked up on Jason's passive response. "Did something else happen today? Man! I didn't even get to hook you up!"

Jason blinked. _Leo knows me too well._ Not finding any way to deny it, he just answered honestly. "Yeah, actually something did happen after Reyna broke up with me." Jason told Leo the event that happened with Piper. "Pretty crazy right? Why would I do that when I just got out of a relationship, a pretty sad one at that?"

He expected Leo to agree with him, but Leo was actually uncharacteristically quiet on the other end. A few moments later, Leo said, "I don't know. Actually… I think you should go for it."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Hell yeah, I mean, what have you got to lose? This Piper girl seems pretty cool and according to your way-too-detailed description, she's the hottest thing to have graced planet Earth haha. I'll admit, Piper does seem a little bit weird, but I could understand why she'd feel pissed off about Dylan. I hate that guy."

 _Of course Leo hates that guy,_ Jason remembered.Dylan used to bully Leo when they were little kids. However, Leo grew into his age and Dylan found it harder and harder to make fun of someone that was half a foot taller and could easily punch his teeth in if he wanted to.

"And besides, it already sounds like you have a crush on her."

Jason felt himself his cheeks flaming. "I do not! I just got dumped by Reyna! I'm not really in the mood to like someone else already."

"Heh, whether you're in the 'mood' or not, love just strikes whenever and wherever. Or at least that's what I told this pretty girl in my English class before she walked away… and talked to her friends while glancing and pointing at me… and then proceeding to laugh at me… BUT, anyways, whatever you say 'Sparky.' But hey, I gotta go. My dad's calling me and he wants me to help him fix the Corvette before he calls it a night. Just think about this Piper girl okay? I think it'd be a good opportunity for you. You never know."

"Yeah, okay. Goodnight and uh, thanks man."

Before finally settling into bed, Jason got up to switch off the lights. For the next hour, he kept tossing and turning, thinking about his break-up with Reyna and finally Piper McLean. He lifted up his hand and examined it, even though he couldn't see those seven digits that he had subconsciously memorized already.

Soon enough, his eyes started to feel heavy. Before he drifted off to sleep, the last thought he had in his head was a pair of kaleidoscopic eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a while. Grad school woes. But here's the next chapter of the Story of Us. Hope you guys like it, and thanks for the reviews! Of course, characters don't belong to me; they belong to Rick Riordan. Enjoy :)

 **Chapter 2:**

"I can't believe you asked Jason Grace to be your boyfriend," Annabeth chided for the hundredth time in the last seventy-two hours.

Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel were in Piper's room, hanging out together as usual on a Friday night. Piper was painting her nails coral-peach while Annabeth was reading a new book. Hazel was flipping through a magazine for horse saddles.

"I know it sounds weird, but gods, I really want Dylan to get a taste of his own medicine you know?" Piper said, trying to excuse herself from Annabeth's lecture. She had told her friends three days ago what happened with Jason and of course Annabeth—being the sensible one of the trio—had tried to level with Piper instead.

Hazel looked up from the catalog and shook her head, making her cinnamon-colored curls bounce. "Revenge is never the answer Piper. Even if Dylan lied to you, pretended to the whole school that you guys never even dated, cheated on you with Drew, said you were ugly—"

"He told you that!?" Annabeth looked to Piper for an explanation.

"Um… wait… So why shouldn't Piper get revenge again?" Hazel asked.

Annabeth sighed. "Because she's above that, remember?"

Hazel put her hand up in defense, having a serious expression on her face. "Yeah, but no guy calls our best friend ugly and gets away with it. As we unanimously agreed, our friend is a lovely girl and anyone is a damn idiot if they can't see that. And it's funny how someone like Dylan would dump Piper, what with her parents being famous and all—"

"Okay, okay that's enough," Piper said, blowing on her freshly manicured fingertips. She didn't want to get on the subject of her parents. And she definitely did not want to get on the subject of her mother and father's careers. "I would never want anyone to know what my parents do, you guys know that."

"Good thing too, since he turned out to be such a jerk. Nonetheless," Hazel continued. "I hate how Dylan treated you Pipes. And even though I rarely condone acts of vengeance, I'll make this an exception since you're my best friend and I love you."

"Thanks, love you too," Piper grinned affectionately. She was still getting glares from Annabeth though, and Piper instantly shuddered. Annabeth could give seminars on how to intimidate people; starting with lesson one: the stink eye.

Putting down her book, Annabeth crossed her arms—a sure sign of her getting ready for a verbal smackdown. "Piper, I really think you're better than this. I know Dylan treated you like shit, but that still doesn't mean you have to sink down to his level. Why would you want to be like him?"

 _One point for Annabeth,_ Piper thought and the look her friend was giving her meant that she very well knew it too.

"Also, you sounded like a freaking psycho pushing Jason down to the ground on Tuesday," Annabeth continued firing. Against the wall, Hazel stifled a laugh.

"I didn't push him down!" Piper exclaimed. "It wasn't my fault there was a huge ass crack the size of Grand Canyon on the sidewalk!"

"And why Jason Grace? I didn't even know you knew him!"

"Okay. First of all, Annabeth, I did know… _of_ him. He's the star quarterback! I've only seen his name in the school paper, like fifty times already! You'd have to be living under a rock if you don't know who Jason Grace was. But I actually saw him a couple times walking out of your AP Physics class and I have to admit, I thought he was kinda hot when I first saw him. I didn't even know that was thee Jason Grace until I overheard someone mention him being in the park while I was walking home from Hazel's on Tuesday. And that's when I hatched my brilliant plan."

Annabeth's eyes turned stormy. _Uh-oh._ Piper knew that look all too well and so she braced herself. "Uh-huh. Your 'brilliant' plan. Piper, did you even bother to ask him if he had a girlfriend?"

Piper was quiet. Come to think of it, didn't she hear from someone that he was going out with his long-time best friend or something? She gulped. Now she felt really awful and embarrassed.

"And how do you even know he's going to treat you right? You don't know him. He could easily just be another Dylan Miller," Annabeth pointed out.

 _Touché,_ thought Piper. _Still…_ "I don't think he's going to treat me bad. Sounds kind of weird because I just met him, but talking to Jason that day, he seemed like a genuinely good person. Plus, I have a feeling that you know he's not like that either. And… I think if he had a girlfriend, he would have told me right away."

"Regardless, you certainly don't know him well enough to even pretend to like each other, so I don't see why he would agree to your favor. And if he does end up calling you tonight, I mean jeez, he's just as weird as you then and I guess you two do belong together."

Piper rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh at Annabeth's snarky comment. "I guess I am a little bit weird."

Hazel cracked another smile as Annabeth lifted an eyebrow. "Only a little? Piper, please, seriously think about your plan against Dylan. You say you don't 'care' about him, but you obviously do if you want to get back at him. The best thing to do would be to walk away."

Piper sighed and fell back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. _Okay,_ she admitted to herself. _I do care—care about showing Dylan what a douchebag he is._ She started to think about to the beginning, to why she even dated him in the first place.

The first time they met, she was walking down the halls engrossed in a novel when she ran into him and her hood fell off. He immediately flashed a big, white smile to her and asked her out. Piper had declined him right away because he was Dylan Miller, Goode High's supposed playboy, so why would he be interested in her anyways when he had prettier girls to hit on? She figured he would stop there, but he started to run into her more and more often. "Accidental" meetings led to flowers and notes in her locker. And finally after weeks of flirting, she agreed to go out for one date. It was all history from there.

Piper remembered in the beginning that he would say she was pretty and that she would always be his girl. He told her that it was her that changed his womanizing ways and he wanted to commit to only her because she was something special. He even told her that he loved her—the first boy to ever say that to her. The next couple of months felt like heaven for her and she couldn't help but be blissfully ignorant that Dylan Miller of all people had those kinds of so-called feelings towards her. Then after months of blind infatuation, Dylan started to ignore her. He would purposefully miss her calls, turn down dates more often, all the while getting more physically progressive with her whenever he did see her. She had told him that she wasn't ready for sex though, and that's when she started hearing the rumors circulating around school; rumors she didn't want to believe, and so she didn't. She had tried so hard to maintain his interest while still being true to her values, but Dylan just kept getting more distant.

It wasn't long before Piper got more insecure with herself with each passing day. Annabeth and Hazel noticed her behavior of course and a couple of weeks ago, Annabeth had given Dylan one of her infamous glares. Piper and Dylan got into the worst fights later that day because he had wanted her to stop hanging out with her best friends. She adamantly put her foot down on that and Dylan walked out, leaving her in shambles. Piper cried for a whole week and in the end, she had asked Annabeth and Hazel to go on a triple date with her and Dylan to try and salvage her relationship. If only Dylan had gotten to know her best friends, things wouldn't be that bad—that's what she told herself at least. They protested at first, but seeing how hopeful Piper was, they finally agreed to it. It was the first burst of confidence Piper had in a while and she couldn't wait to tell Dylan the good news. She had wanted to surprise him so on that fateful day, she walked to his house and well… Piper got a good view of Drew's breasts in Dylan's hands.

Even through her journey to the Underworld and back, the worst part about this entire relationship was that she _believed_ everything. She believed that she did change him and that they were really in love. She spent the last six months of her life pining over a guy that played her like a fool and it made Piper cringe to the core. However, the emotion she felt the most was sadness. She really believed that she found a nice guy and in the end, she was heartbroken and humiliated. She thought about Dylan and how he had dumped her, telling her it was her fault by not caring so much about her appearance. _"Why wear that ugly hood when everyone can see that I have a beautiful girlfriend underneath,"_ he had said. That was why he _had_ to get with Drew Tanaka and relieve some "tension" that day she caught him red-handed. And that although he still "loved" Piper and she still was the "only one" for him, she had to let him go and experience things before he found his way back to her again. _What a load of bullshit,_ Piper thought, feeling her cheeks flame with anger and clenching her fists. In hindsight, she saw how twisted he was and that his "compliments" always disguised his true nature. She wondered how many times he had said the same "romantic" things to the girls before her and probably even Drew right now. Dylan Miller needed a reality check. And who better to dish it to him than the one and only Piper McLean? Exactly.

"Okay look," Piper started as she sat up. "I know that revenge isn't always the answer. I know that I could also make a statement standing on my own two feet all independently and moving on with my life. And asking Jason to pretend-date me might have been irrational, stupid, and insane. But come on Annabeth. I'm positive that I'm not the only one that got their heart broken by Dylan and I know that I wasn't the only one stupid enough to fall for his sickly-sweet charms and believe that he really did love me. I'm sure there are handfuls of girls out there who were lied to, cheated on, and humiliated because of him. He slept around with so many girls, probably promising that they were his 'one true love' only for them to be backstabbed and deserted. I mean, thank goodness I never slept with him, but still, we girls demand respect. I'm not trying to push him off a cliff or put tarantulas in his car—though now that I think about it, that's actually kind of a good idea—Anyways, I want him to know that girls like me aren't going to wait around for an explanation or a reason, or, eww, his forgiveness. That girls like me deserve better! He's a fucking creep, Annabeth. Pond scum! 'An eye for an eye and an ear for an ear.' So this isn't vengeance; this is justice and karma is ready to bite Dylan in the nads. So I'm going to teach Dylan assward Miller a lesson and if anyone tries to stop me, I'll kick their ass all the way back to last year!" By the time she was done, Piper was standing up with her chest puffed up and her head held high. _Dang! That was a pretty good speech,_ Piper thought smugly.

Hazel and Annabeth looked at each other. Unexpectedly, Annabeth started laughing. And not just little chuckles, but serious uncontrollable, gut-wrenching laughter that she had to lay back and clutch her stomach. Contagious one at that, because Hazel burst into her own fit of giggles. "Wh-What's so funny?" Piper asked, becoming less steamed.

Sitting upright again, Annabeth took a deep breath. "Ahhh Piper, you're pretty cute when you get all self-righteous and kick into rabid-dog mode. Really, you should be on the debate team."

Piper smiled. People have been telling her to be on the debate team for years now. But you know what they say: with great power comes great responsibility; and so she'd have to keep her evil ways to a minimum (although world domination _does_ sound enticing). "So…"

Annabeth sighed. She was silent for a moment, as if she were calculating all the possible repercussions resulting from Piper's plan—which she probably was. A couple minutes passed before Piper started to hold her breath. "… Well… fine. If you put it that way, let's get back at Dylan Miller!" Annabeth smirked.

"Whoo-hoo! We'll let him know not to mess with Piper!" Hazel added excitedly.

"And we can get some ninja gear for stealth mode-spying!" Piper blurted out without thinking.

"Wait what?" Hazel and Annabeth said in unison.

"Uh, forget you heard that," Piper blushed. The three girls started laughing when Mellie, Piper's housekeeper and practically a guardian of Piper, came into the room. "Piper dear? Your father is on Skype and he'd like to talk to you."

Piper's face lit up. "Really? Okay!" Leaving her friends to talk amongst themselves, she bounded out of her room and nearly ran into the office where the laptop was set up. Mellie followed Piper to the office, glad to see her so happy. It was rare for Piper to get into contact with her father because of his demanding schedule.

She sat down on the plush leather chair and immediately saw her dad's grinning face on the computer screen. Piper could feel automatic prickles of tears in her eyes and a small lump in her throat. Even after all these years, she was still very sensitive about her parents' common absence from her life. Her father was none other than Tristan McLean, one of the most famous actors in the country. He had always been relatively famous, with small parts on TV shows here and there. Back then she saw her dad a lot more often, and she fondly reminisced over those memories. Those times were cut short when he landed a big role in the Spartan movie when Piper was twelve. She remembered how her father and her laughed at the movie poster, where her father was shirtless and oiled, with a funny look on his face as he was yelling. Then that poster also became one of the most recognizable posters of all time, much to Piper's embarrassment. In fact, he got so much media attention that she had to move to New Rome in order to get away from the paparazzi. It had been hell being constantly watched and questioned. That was one of the biggest reasons why she kept her hood on, aside from other more personal reasons…

The worst part about it though was that Piper saw her father less and less since then. His fame only skyrocketed from there. He was almost as absent as her mother now, who was also a famous supermodel. When Piper had the chance to speak to her parents, she always felt giddy inside, like a child opening up their presents on Christmas morning.

"Hey sweetheart! I just got done filming a scene for my next movie, so I could talk for a little bit. Tried to call your phone, but that didn't work so I figured I'd call Mellie just in case. It's so great to see you. I miss you so much," her father said from the other side of the connection. In the background, Piper could see costumes and plates of food in his dressing room. She could also see a small frame of Piper and her parents together, taken in Hawaii just before her dad got the role for the Spartan movie. That had been one of the best moments of Piper's life.

Piper was able to swallow the lump in her throat and speak. "I know, Dad. I miss you so much too! How have you been?"

"I've been good, but work has been hectic. Today I had to re-shoot a scene twenty-eight times. I'm so exhausted. But enough about work Pipes. I can't wait to see you next month!"

"I know Dad. I can't wait either! We're gonna have so much fun! I've already planned things, but I won't tell you because I want you to be surprised," she grinned. To be honest, Piper was incredibly relieved that her dad was actually keeping his word.

"You would do that to me, heh. How about we talk about something else then, because if I don't, I'll find a way to convince you to tell me. How's my favorite little girl doing?"

"I'm doing okay. School just started last week and so far it seems like my classes are pretty easy, considering half of them are honors courses. At least I'm not like Annabeth with a full load of AP courses, haha."

Her father laughed too, knowing how Annabeth is. "Well, just try your best in school. How are your friends by the way?"

"They're alright too. Annabeth is most likely going to be valedictorian for our class and she's still going out with Percy. Hazel's doing well too. In fact, she just got into a relationship with a boy named Frank! It's so cute."

"Ah, that's interesting. Good for her. Let her know though that if he ever mistreats her, I'll be there to set that boy straight." Piper grinned at that. Her parents treated Annabeth and Hazel like their own kids. In fact, if it were her mother, she'd probably want every single detail of how they got together. Her mom was into that kind of stuff. "Oh and how's your boyfriend Dylan?"

Hearing Dylan's name, Piper felt her body twitch. She had almost forgotten about him. "Actually Dad, we broke up."

At her confession, her father immediately went into overprotective-raging-dad-"I'm-going-to-get-my-handgun-and-no-I- _promise_ -I'll-only-talk" mode. "What? Why? When? What happened? What did he do? Did he cheat on you? Because I swear to gods if he hurt you or expected my little girl to do some things that I'd forbid her from doing—"

"Whoa, whoa slow down there, Dad." Piper cut off, not wanting to get her father all riled up. If he knew that Dylan cheated on her not once, but apparently multiple times, her father would fly back home just to have a "few choice words" with her ex-boyfriend—which would probably involve a 9 mm Berretta. As tempting as it sounded, she knew she had to be strong for both their sakes. Plus, it probably wouldn't be fun to have her dad in jail. "I just didn't like him anymore that's all," she half-lied smoothly. Well, she didn't like him anymore; that was the truth.

Piper's dad sighed in relief. "Oh, good. Well then it's okay Pipes. These things… er, happen. Falling out of love I mean. Um to be honest, I didn't like him that much anyways."

"Dad you never even met him."

"Exactly my point. When I was younger, I had to meet your grandpa first when I wanted to court your mother. And wow, was your grandpa something! Dylan never even tried to see me!"

She chuckled at her dad for being so old-fashioned. "Of course not. It would've been a while before I let him meet you! He would've recognized you instantly and I would never hear the end of it at school!"

Piper also didn't mention the teeny fact that Dylan was hardly interested in meeting her parents as well.

"No excuses! … Though okay, I suppose I understand." Piper's dad relented.

The thing was, her parents and Piper worked hard in her school and community to keep their fame a secret. Piper knew that it could change people and she definitely didn't want to be treated differently again just because she was the daughter of an actor and supermodel. That was why she asked her parents if it was okay if she could just live in a house that wasn't too fancy or noticeable. Fortunately they agreed, especially since she kept being followed by reporters everywhere she went when she used to live in Malibu, or when she was constantly being picked on by her classmates for being rich; people assuming she was just another rich snob or making cracks at her Cherokee descent just to find something to make fun of. All Piper wanted to do was live a regular teenage life and her parents fully backed her up.

Luckily for Piper, she had her best friends Annabeth Chase and Hazel Levesque to be there for her when times were lonely. At first Piper was afraid to tell them who her parents were, thinking they were going to be like her classmates from her old school. But they were good-hearted people, and it wasn't really long before she finally told them her secret. She was more than grateful that they promised on the River Styx to never let anyone know unless Piper gave consent too. While laying low about her parents' careers, Piper also tried to hide away from the popular limelight in school. Countless neighbors back in Malibu told her that she'd grow up to be as beautiful as her mom and that she would attract a lot of attention from boys—much to the annoyance of her classmates. That was why she cut her hair herself to make it look more normal. She dressed up in simple clothes as to not attract too much attention from people like Dylan.

"It's okay, Dad. When the right guy comes, I'll be sure to let him meet you asap," she promised.

"Sounds good Pipes. But hey, I'm sorry to cut the conversation short, but I have to go now."

Piper became crestfallen. She looked at the time and saw that she had only spoken to her dad for eight minutes—that was eight minutes in two weeks! "Already Dad? You can't stay for a few more minutes?" She knew she sounded whiny, but she couldn't help it.

Her father looked sad and guilty. "I'm afraid I can't this time sweetheart. But I promise you that the next time we'll talk, it'll be longer okay?"

She nodded her head, but deep down she wasn't expecting anything. She had heard it so many times before from her mom and dad. Usually, their conversations lasted around this length and the gap of absence were far in between. Still, Piper told herself that eight minutes were better nothing. Plus, he was coming next month, so she put on a brave face. "One more month?"

"One more month. I promise you," he replied.

"Okay, I love you Dad."

"I love you too sweetheart. So much." As always, her dad blew her a kiss and Piper like always, caught it no matter how far away he was. A second later, the screen went blank.

Piper could feel oncoming tears, but she immediately quelled it. She walked back to the room and saw Mellie give her an apologetic smile on the way out.

Hazel and Annabeth were both arguing over what song to play next when Piper came back. When she entered, both girls turned down the volume. "Hey how was it?" Annabeth asked.

"It was… nice," Piper answered.

The two girls looked at each other, knowing that when Piper used the word, "nice," it meant that her conversation with her parents was shorter than usual. "How's your dad?" Hazel asked.

"He's fine. Oh, but he told me that if Frank ever hurts you, he's going to hunt him down."

That seemed to break the sad tension as the three of them burst into another round of laughter, knowing that her dad was completely serious.

"I don't think he has to worry. Frank's a really, really great guy."

Piper smiled fondly at her friend. "Yeah I know. You're both really lucky to have each other."

Annabeth looked at her watch and started packing her books. "Hey Pipes, it's time for me to go home. I still have homework that I accidentally left on my desk earlier.

"Oh no, it's Friday night and you forgot next month's physics homework? How unlike you!" Hazel mocked jokingly.

"Shut it Hazel!" Annabeth said as she pushed her off the bed. "But seriously, I do have to go home now… I left next week's physics homework on my desk.

Piper and Hazel snorted. Annabeth was the only girl—only human in the world that completed next week's homework for _fun._ "I have to go too, I um… have a date with Frank tonight," Hazel said, blushing all the way up to her roots of her hair. She was still a bit bashful about dating.

"Ah young love. Don't worry Hazel. He'll be annoying as Seaweed Brain soon enough," Annabeth said.

Piper's friends finished packing up and the trio walked to the front door, with Hazel leaving first. Before Piper shut the door however, Annabeth turned around and spoke up. "Hey Pipes, I was serious about Jason Grace though."

"What do you mean?" Piper responded.

"I mean, I do wanna get back at Dylan for what he did to you… but I'm not exactly sure how I feel about you asking Jason to pretend to be your boyfriend. It's not that it's abrupt or anything… honestly, I just don't want to see you get hurt again. And if he doesn't end up calling you for whatever reason… well, I don't think you should keep searching for someone else to fake-date either."

Piper leaned against the doorjamb, mulling over her friend's advice. Then, Piper came up with an ultimatum. "How about this? If he calls me tonight and agrees to do this thing with Dylan, then we'll see what happens. And I promise to proceed as carefully as possible with my fake relationship. If he doesn't, then I promise that I won't ask another guy to do this fake dating thing. Sound good?"

"Deal. But you better let Hazel or me know if Jason ever calls. Understood?"

"Yes Mother Dearest."

"Good! See you tomorrow!"

Piper closed the door after her last friend left and headed into the kitchen where she found Mellie cleaning up. Piper helped with the dishes and quickly kissed her guardian goodnight as soon as they were done. When she went into her room, she immediately looked at her cellphone hoping to see a missed call. Unfortunately, Piper didn't receive anything. She waited another half hour for Jason's call, but when it turned 10:00 pm, she decided to call it a night and went to sleep, feeling a little disheartened.

An hour later, Piper's cellphone rang. Too sleepy to look at the caller ID, she picked up her phone, ready to bring down Olympus on Annabeth or Hazel for disrupting her sleep. "Hello?" she said, utterly groggily.

"Uh… Piper?" a deep voice came from the other end.

Piper instantly sat up. She knew that voice. "Yeah it's Piper… Is this Jason?"

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry it's kind of late. Just got back from football practice. So about that favor…" Jason said, giving Piper butterflies, "when do we start?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! Sorry for the drought. I just finished up my last final today. YAZZZ. Anyways, hope you like the chapter and enjoy :)

 **Chapter 3:**

It was almost an hour early before class started and Jason was waiting for Piper outside of the school library. Piper and him had agreed to meet Monday morning to discuss more about their "relationship." It was easy finding the perfect place to talk about their plan. 7:15 in the morning where only teachers arrive on campus for coffee meetings and staff gossip? Check. Meeting at the "nonexistent" library where it was practically deserted no matter what time of day it was? Check. Bring donuts? Well, Piper did say she loved donuts…

Jason kept glancing at his watch, finding himself eagerly waiting to see Piper again. Over the weekend, Jason had constantly thought about her. After finally receiving some last minute encouragement from Leo and Thalia, Jason decided to call Friday night and agreed to be her fake boyfriend. During their phone call, he had learned a little bit more about this strange girl. She was best friends with two fellow seniors named Annabeth—who sounded really familiar—and Hazel. She was a vegetarian and had an extreme sweet tooth for donuts. On Saturday and Sunday, his thoughts strayed to her over and over again. He thought about what she was doing, who she was with, and even what she was wearing that day. Jason felt pretty stupid for feeling this strongly for a girl that he only saw once and spoke to twice, but Jason couldn't put a finger on all of his conflicting emotions.

Jason attributed some of his over-excitement to his recent split with Reyna; he needed something like this to help him through his break-up. Jason had told his mom that him and Reyna were over and she predictably took it harder than him, saying how "the most perfect relationship" just ended. He also told his dad about Reyna and unexpectedly, his dad actually asked if he was okay and even gave him some advice about relationships. Sure the call only lasted five minutes and his dad recommended him to date plenty of girls (to which Jason silently disagreed), but the sentiment was really appreciated. Jason also called Thalia and told him everything, which being the supportive sister that she was, immediately understood his feelings and comforted him despite the fact that she was friends with Reyna too since they used to be on the same sports team back when Thalia was in high school. He also confided in Thalia about Piper. Like Leo, she encouraged him to be Piper's pretend boyfriend. Thalia—one of the biggest feminists that he knew—tried denying it, but Jason figured that she wanted him to date Piper to put boys like Dylan in their place. Thalia merely insisted however, that Piper seemed like a nice person to be around and could be good for Jason as a simple friend. He agreed that Piper was interesting, and she was just the sort of person to help him through his heartbreak.

Speaking of heartbreak, Jason had actually called Reyna and told her what had happened after their meeting. Not wanting to disrespect her, he was surprised to hear that she supported his decision to enter this fake relationship, thinking that seeing other people might be what they need in order for them to really know how they truly felt about each other. Having the green light, he thanked her for being a good friend and in return, she promised to keep her lips sealed.

And those were the excuses he kept trying to tell himself over the weekend as to why he could ever agree to do something like this with a total stranger. Another reason, the one that he tried not to think about since it made him feel very superficial, was that he wanted to see Piper again since she was pretty much… something else. He couldn't deny that Piper was downright beautiful. He had dated a few girls before Reyna and although they were pretty, Piper was in a league of her own—sweeping away future competition and the ones that came before her. For the last week, he even started daydreaming about Piper. Most of all, he really just had to peek at those kaleidoscopic eyes one more time at least. Aside from her obvious looks, Jason was also very curious about her. First of all, he still had no idea why she would even pick him to be her boyfriend. Why not pick someone she knew or anyone else on the football team like Leo? Even if she didn't know anyone, why him out of all the other thousand boys in Goode High School? Secondly, he had also been attracted to her personality. Despite her recent break-up from Dylan, Piper still seemed grounded and confident, but also very real and kind at the same time. Sure Reyna and any other girl he knew were cool people, but Piper was just different… _It's probably the weirdness factor,_ he chuckled to himself.

Most of all, he just HAD to know where "Sparky" came from. Since Jason had told Leo about Piper last Tuesday, he had not stopped calling him "Sparky," getting odd looks from some of their teammates during practice. Because of the reaction Leo was getting, all of his teammates decided to call him that too, relishing in the mysterious embarrassment the great Jason Grace was experiencing.

He looked at the watch again. 7.18. _Wow, had it really only been five minutes since I last looked at the time? Get a grip, Grace._

From behind him, someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Jason."

Jason turned around to see Piper—and gods of Olympus did his memory do him no justice. This time, Piper put her chocolate-brown hair down and had two braids on each side of her face, attached to simple white and burgundy feathers. She still wore the light blue snowboarding jacket that he saw last Tuesday, but this time she wore black leggings with black boots. Instead of smelling strawberries and raspberries, this time she smelled like peaches. She was smiling at Jason with a mischievous glint in her illustrious eyes.

"Hmm, you're staring again," Piper said, trying not to laugh.

Jason recovered and cleared his throat. "Ah, hi."

"Hey there Jase," Piper eyed the pink box that he was holding, her eyes widening in comprehension. "Is that…"

Opening the lid, he revealed six scrumptious-looking chocolate-glazed donuts with sprinkles. "So we don't suffer at this ungodly hour."

Piper flashed a brilliant smile. "Wow, thank you! You're sweet Jason Grace. I might almost ask you to be my boyfriend for real." Jason blushed at her words.

"Anyways," she said as they walked through the doors of the library. "Thanks for meeting me here, especially at this 'ungodly' hour hehe. I mean really, who gets up this early to go to the library at 7:00 in the morning? It's deserted and creepy!"

"I do."

While Jason just jumped a little from the sound, Piper shot up a mile and even elicited a small scream, which earned a "SHH!" from the librarian sitting at the front desk. That was probably the most action the librarian had all month. "Holy cheese, you SCARED me!" Piper whispered harshly, clutching her heart.

Jason saw two people sitting at a nearby table. One of them had black hair that was a little long and just about brushed along his eyebrows. He also had very vibrant sea-green eyes that obviously looked tired, but still carried a hint of light-hearted humor. He was wearing simple clothes: an orange T-shirt and jeans. Jason had seen him a few times. This was Percy Jackson, the star swimmer for the Goode High School swim team. On the opposite side of him sat a pretty-looking blonde with fierce gray eyes. She had on a Yankees baseball cap that seemed incredibly worn out. Unlike Percy who looked ready to pass out, she was alert and completely focused on the three textbooks displayed in front of her. He had seen her before too. She was in his AP calculus class and AP physics class, with her seat right next to Leo's.

"Hmm, I should have known that YOU would be here Annabeth," Piper said. "Catching up on next week's AP economics assignment?"

Annabeth completely ignored her, which Piper smirked at. Instead, Percy answered, "Yes."

Piper laughed. "So… is there anyone else here guys?"

Percy shrugged his shoulders and winked. "What do you think?"

"Haha, I see. Well, thanks. I'll see you later in class." With that, Piper motioned for Jason and led him away to the end of the room.

"This looks like a good spot," she whispered as she motioned to a table situated in the corner of the room, with bookshelves mostly blocking it from view.

Jason nodded his head and sat down. "So that was your friend Annabeth there?"

Piper grinned. "Yep, that's my brainiac best friend, Annabeth Chase. Top student in our class since freshman year. Calculus tutor on Tuesdays, physics tutor on Wednesdays, and English tutor on Thursdays. Won the children's spelling bee from age five to twelve. Received the principal's scholar award five times since she was ten years old. Was on Jeopardy and won—twice."

Jason was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. Annabeth was on Jeopardy _twice_ and _won?_ "Are you serious?"

"Alright, you got me," Piper said, raising her hands up in mock surrender. "She didn't win the spelling bee at twelve. She said it was too easy at that point."

He started laughing, but immediately quieted down when he remembered where he was. Which meant that Piper and him should be getting down to business. "So."

"So."

"First things first… Why do you call me 'Sparky?'"

She looked baffled for a moment before she started chuckling. "Ah, I'm sorry," Jason noticed that her cheeks turned a little bit pink as she went on. "Well, the thing is, when I saw you on Tuesday, the first thing I noticed were your eyes."

He cocked his head to the side, obviously confused. "My eyes? Why?"

"Your eyes are probably the brightest shade of blue I've ever seen… like electric blue. I couldn't help but stare at them the whole time on Tuesday so when I left, I kind of just blurted out 'Sparky.' I know it's pretty lame and I apologize for it, but it really just came to me. Plus. I think it suits you quite well."

"Huh, interesting," Jason mused. "Funny, because I can say the same thing about your eyes."

Now it was Piper's turn to look confused. "Oh, and what about my eyes?"

The corner of Jason's mouth turned up a little. "I noticed your eyes the first thing too last Tuesday. I just… I don't know what color they are. I've been thinking about it all weekend and even seeing you here now, it looks like your eyes are green. But just earlier when we were outside, your eyes looked more blue. Your eyes are kaleidoscopic."

"You're not the first person to be stumped over my eye color. Even my parents can't figure it out! So we just settled for hazel. But you're the first person to call my eyes kaleidoscopic."

"They are… you just have really beautiful eyes is all," he said honestly. He knew he should have felt bashful over admitting something like that to Piper, especially because he himself was never one to be so verbal in general. But he didn't really feel embarrassed at all. And he actually wanted to tell her that, just because it felt right to him.

Piper's eyes grew soft as he said those words. "Thanks Jason, you're really sweet… Like those donuts," she said as she picked up another donut and winked at him.

"Well, if I'm going to pretend to be your boyfriend, I have to make sure my girl is taken care of right? Which reminds me, I want to know more about you," Jason said.

"Fair enough. What do you want to know?"

"Anything really, like maybe hobbies, favorite movies or books or TV shows, anything that you want to tell me," he responded.

Piper finished eating her donut and pondered for a moment, collecting her thoughts. Jason took this opportunity to check her out again. Everything she did, seemed cute to him. "Let's see… okay, as you know my name is Piper McLean and I just turned seventeen years old last month. Hmm… as a hobby, I like to paint. Fun fact for you, you know the really big mural with that giant eagle in the Minerva plaza? I painted that with myself."

 _Wow._ Jason knew what she was talking about. The mural in the school's plaza was about thirty feet wide and featured a huge eagle, which was Goode High's mascot, mixed with colors and designs based on a Native American theme with a hint of Greek or Italian artwork. The mural was so well-received and popular, it was actually featured in the city's paper, but it said that the artist of the mural had chosen to remain anonymous. _Odd,_ he thought. From time to time, he would see people stop and examine the mural for a while, finding something new and hidden each time they looked at it. It was amazing to finally know the artist behind the masterpiece.

"What else…" Piper continued.

And it went on like that for the next half an hour, both of them giving and taking information about their respective lives. Now that he was getting to know her more, Jason found himself liking her with each passing minute. Not only was she a painter, but she was a writer and an avid reader, with her favorite books ranging from classic romance novels from Jane Austen or more modern novels like _The Kite Runner._ She was in love with _The Lord of the Rings_ and was a huge Bruce Lee fan like himself. Her taste in music was pretty open as well, with disco/funk being the only thing she didn't like too much ("Earth, Wind, and Fire though will ALWAYS be the exception," she said in defense).

For him, he found it easy to talk about himself too. She always seemed so engrossed in everything he was saying, asking questions and follow-up questions when she didn't understand something or when she was excited. It was nice to feel this way, with someone having all ears for him. There were only a few people he could think of that had this much thoughtfulness for him, and she quickly became one of them. If he had to be honest, she listened more to him than his own mother and father did, though at least his dad had some form of an excuse.

"… And that's about all I can think of," she finished.

"Nice. And how about school. What are your classes this semester?"

"I'm taking AP English IV, Honors French, Multicultural Art, Honors Economics, Trigonometry, Anatomy, and Speech."

Jason whistled in appreciation, to which she smiled. "And how about you?" she asked.

"I'm taking English IV, AP Calculus, AP Physics, Psychology, Economics, photography, and I have a P.E. period which is used for football practice."

"Wow, and you thought I was amazing? That's quite a load there. And I must say I'm impressed. And I thought all football players were just Neanderthals," she joked. "What about your friends? I haven't heard about them yet."

Jason was about to mention Reyna, but talking about her made him a little sad. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure what their status was at that point. Friends? Best friends? Possible future soul mates? Either way, he figured she was right; maybe they'd just have to trust time.

"My best friend is definitely Leo. He's on the football team with me too. I've known him for as long as I can remember," Jason said instead. He started telling Piper stories of some of the things that Leo and him have gotten into for the fifteen years that they've known each other, like camping, family dinners, vacations, and of course the huge number of pranks that Leo had pulled through their years in high school. "As for my family… Well, I have an older sister named Thalia, but she's in college now. It's cool though, because she usually calls me every other day to check up on me. And my parents, my mom lives with me while my dad lives in Seattle."

"Washington huh? That's cool. What's he there for?"

Instant relief swept over him as he realized she was one of the people in town who never got wind of his dad's career. Even if it had been quite a few years since "the incident," and how Thalia and him managed to convince his mom to be more covert about their wealth for the sake of their livelihoods, sometimes he got the feeling that people stared at him as if he was some sort of god. Like because his dad was rich, they couldn't mess with him or they had to be nice. He hated feeling that way; he just wanted people to see him for his own personality, achievements, and accolades. Fortunately, his sister and him were able to keep his mom in check, and for the most part, most of the town either forgot about his family or they stopped caring. It annoyed his mom to not have the attention, but for Jason, it was exactly what he wanted. "Just work," he said automatically, using the usual response reserved for questions like these.

Those two words most often did the trick, with people just nodding their head and accepting the answer. But Piper wasn't fooled and he knew it. She looked at him curiously, noticing how closed off he sounded. She debated whether or not to go more on the subject, but thought against it. "Okay. That sounds cool."

He felt himself relax a little bit, which was surprising because he didn't know he tensed up to begin with. "What about you? Parents or siblings?"

"My parents work, ah… overseas, so I stay with Mellie. She's pretty much my guardian, so I like to think of her as an aunt. I have no siblings, but it's okay because I have Annabeth and Hazel. They're like sisters to me. In fact, they were the first person to know about this little plan."

Jason nodded, also picking up on Piper's detached tone when talking about her parents. But since she gave him the courtesy about his father, Jason didn't bother asking more information about her mom and dad. Instead he said, "Annabeth seems like a nice person."

Piper laughed, "Oh she is. But she can also be the most stubborn person in the world. Crazy how Percy is head over heels for her, but thank the gods because I'm quite fond of those two together… Also Hazel's a total sweetheart. Their boyfriends are also like my brothers, so we're all really close with each other."

Trying to peek again again at Percy and Annabeth from where he was sitting, Jason saw Percy attempting to kiss Annabeth on the nose. She pushed him away, but after whispering something in her ear, she cracked a smile and kissed him back. "Leo's like my brother too," Jason said. "I've known him since I was really little."

As he said this, the ten-minute bell rang, signaling the beginning of school. _Huh, time went by really fast with Piper._ "Speaking of Leo, how about you meet him now? He's in AP physics with Annabeth and me."

"Sounds great. I'd love to meet the guy that painted the teacher's parking lot lines white on top of the yellow. Haha, the teachers had to park all the way at the back of the parking lot. I have respect for that prank."

The two of them stood up, cleaning up their mess. From behind, Annabeth and Percy appeared from around the bookshelf, already packed and ready to leave.

"Hey you two. We're going to class," Annabeth said, with Percy's arm draped around her. Annabeth zeroed her eyes on Jason, and he got the feeling that she was analyzing every detail about him, determining if he was good enough to be with Piper. He hoped she had a good impression. "So Piper. This must be your new boyfriend."

Piper blushed under Annabeth's calculating gaze. "Er yeah, my um, boyfriend. His name is Jason, but you've seen him before since he's in your AP physics class."

"Which I'm going to right now," Jason said hurriedly. He had no idea why, but being around Annabeth made him feel like he had to straighten up and get his shit together.

Beside Annabeth, Percy chuckled. "Cool it babe," Percy said casually to his girlfriend. Percy extended his hand out to Jason, which he took and shook. "Hey, I'm Percy. Annabeth can be rigid sometimes, but trust me, she's actually not as prickly as a thorn bush."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Thanks Seaweed Brain. Ahh, I'm sorry, I'm just protective of my friends. You seem like a good person Jason, so fair enough. Although I do have to tell you, if you ever hurt Piper like Dylan did to her, I'll sock you in the throat. You got that?"

"Yes ma'am," Jason replied politely, not bothered by her threat since he recognized the good intentions behind it. Plus, he'd never hurt Piper.

Piper tugged on Jason's arm, ready to leave the library. "So how about we meet Leo?"

"Leo Valdez?" Annabeth asked, "Why don't we all walk together since we're walking the same way," she suggested. "We can get to know each other some more."

Piper shook her head in defeat and smiled apologetically at Jason. If Piper thought Annabeth was like a sister to her, then Jason was going to make sure that he had Annabeth's approval. "That's fine with me. Come on Pipes." Jason took her hand and held it, making Piper blush a bright red. Right then, he realized that Piper and him never really discussed the "dos and don'ts" of their relationship. Surely hand-holding was okay though? Being truthful, he admitted to himself that he didn't mind holding Piper's hand, so he squeezed it for reassurance.

"Ready to pretend?" Piper asked. Jason just nodded his head and gave her an encouraging smile.

Annabeth noticed Jason and Piper's display of affection, but Percy just laughed and pulled her away from them so that they could give the two some privacy.

However, as soon as the four of them left the library, Annabeth and Piper naturally gravitated together, with the two of them walking in the front and giggling. Jason and Percy walked side by side a little ways behind the girls. Jason studied Percy; he thought that the varsity swimmer seemed like a really cool guy to hang out with. With the easy way he walked and how he carried himself like he didn't have a care in the world. He had heard of Percy Jackson and all the medals he won in swimming. Like Jason with his football team, Percy had helped make Goode High School swim team a championship team. Both of them seemed like they had so much in common, but Percy gave off this relaxed aura that Jason felt he lacked but therefore appreciated. "So—"

"—About Annabeth," Percy started.

Both boys shut up immediately. "Sorry, you go first," Jason offered.

"Oh. Well about Annabeth. Sorry that she may seem cold and a little hard to get to know, but like I said earlier, she's actually a really nice girl. Trust me, she hated my guts when we first met each other. What with our parents… But anyways, in the end, I just fell in love with her and we've been together for over a year now. Give Annabeth a chance."

Jason just laughed. "It's cool, man. I really don't think Annabeth is mean at all. I understand how protective she is of her friends and that's something I admire."

Percy smiled warmly at that. "Yeah. She's a really awesome girl. But anyways, I was going to give you a heads up. I'm betting Annabeth is going to want to double date, triple date, or whatever those girls wanna call it, to get to know you. So do me a favor and go along with what she says? She always wins in the end anyways."

"Yeah no problem. Look, I'm dating Piper now so it's only right that I get to know her friends and family too."

"That's good to hear." Percy said, but chuckled knowingly. "Don't kid around though. I know you and Piper are faking this whole dating thing. But thanks for doing this for her. I already like you a hundred times better than Dylan and you aren't even her real boyfriend. He never wanted to hang out with us and I felt that he even tried to have her pick him over us sometimes… and in the end, he practically did give her that ultimatum. It really hurt her, and as much as Annabeth doesn't wanna admit it, it hurt her too. Wanted to smash his head in for making Annabeth feel that way. And as Piper's brother pretty much, I was about one step away from beating the crap out of him. But Piper, well, she likes to fight her own battles."

Jason looked at his "girlfriend" and her best friend. Both of them were still talking amongst themselves, sneaking quick glances back to him and Percy, before whispering to each other again. "I get that feeling from Piper."

"What do you get from me?" Piper asked, looking back at him.

Jason and Percy just smirked. "Nothing. Guy talk," Percy assured her. The two girls looked at each other and just shrugged.

The four of them reached Jason and Annabeth physics class. From there, Leo was leaning against the hideous, olive-green lockers next to the door. When he saw Jason, he waved him over. However, when he saw Jason grab a hold of Piper's hand, Leo grinned so hard like a madman that it looked like his face was going to split in two. Leo jogged over to them, already excited to meet Jason's new girlfriend. "Hey Jason. And who might this be?" Leo said, as he waggled his eyebrows at Jason.

Piper smiled at Leo's compliment. "I'm Piper McLean," sticking out her hand to which Leo eagerly took.

"And I'm Leo Valdez. The Batman of our duo," he said, kissing Piper's hand like a gentleman.

Piper giggled while Jason punched his best friend in the arm. "Shut up, Valdez. And watch it, this is my girlfriend now."

All Leo did was laugh and smirk at Jason. "Oh I see. Okay, I don't know what you see in Jason, Piper, since he's always Mr. Frigid, but if you're crazy enough to be together with this whole deal thing, then maybe you belong together."

"That's what I said," Annabeth said from the side.

Leo turned his attention to Annabeth and smiled seductively at her too. "And who is this lovely lady?"

"I only sit right next to you Mr. Suave. The name's Annabeth Chase and I'm a friend of Piper's. Nice to officially meet you."

"Oh so you think I'm suave?" Leo said cheekily.

Beside her, Percy spoke up and held up his left hand, which was fastened in Annabeth's right hand. "And I'm Percy. The boyfriend," he said smoothly but clearly.

"Damn it! All the babes are taken!" Leo exclaimed. He grabbed Piper by the shoulders. "If you have any more hot friends, let a guy know okay?"

"I'll see what I can do. Scouts honor."

Leo smiled some more and nudged Jason. "Well, I approve of your girlfriend."

The three-minute bell warning bell rang, making Piper and Percy groan in departure. Annabeth said goodbye to Percy after sharing a quick kiss. "I'll see you at lunch? I sit in the Nike plaza underneath the big oak tree. Do you know which one I'm talking about?" Piper told Jason. Ho nodded; that had been Thalia's favorite hangout spot when she was still in high school.

"Sure, we'll see you there," Leo intervened, putting a chummy arm around Jason.

"Great!" She smiled at Jason and Leo. She was about to walk away when Leo said, "You guys aren't gonna kiss?"

Jason felt his face flame immediately. Piper's face also turned the same color as Jason's. "Well… I suppose…" Piper said.

"How sweet," Leo egged on, waiting for the entertainment.

Just then, Annabeth grabbed Leo by the arm and gave a thoughtful look at Piper and Jason. "Come on Loverboy," Annabeth told Leo. "You can help me with problem #2 of next week's homework." The mischievous Latino protested—(he had no idea he even had homework due next week)—but was shuffled inside the classroom.

Jason was busy laughing when quickly, Piper kissed him on the lips. His eyes widened for a second, before closing his own eyes and pressing his own lips on hers, which were soft and moist. He felt his heart go into overdrive mode and his knees feel a little bit like jelly. He found himself grabbing a hold of her arms and squeezing it lightly. He had never felt this way when he kissed Reyna or any girl for that matter. It felt perfect to him—right. Just as fast as when Piper sneak attacked a kiss, Piper fell back from him and opened her eyes. She took a breath and stared at Jason, looking just as surprised as he was.

"Umm… I better get to class now," Piper said, her cheeks pink and her heart racing.

"Y-Yeah, sure," Jason stuttered like an idiot.

Piper smirked. "You're cute when you stutter." She lightly pecked him on the cheek before running down the hallway hoping get to her own classroom on time.

Jason stood there like a moron until fifteen seconds later, he heard the class bell rang. He quickly walked inside and sat down in his seat before the teacher could scold him for tardiness. Next to him, Leo and Annabeth were looking at him expectantly. Jason tried to look straight ahead and give nothing away, but Annabeth was too smart.

"You felt sparks didn't you," Annabeth simply stated.

Jason remained silent and couldn't help but smile, wanting to keep his own magical experience with Piper McLean to himself.

A/N: I actually had someone in my senior year paint over the white lines in the parking lot, so a lot of the teachers had to park far away. One of the most simple, conniving plans ever.


	4. Chapter 4

Ack! Sorry for the late post. I've been studying abroad and I am actually posting this from Finland! Beautiful country :). Anyways, please enjoy the chapter. Sorry if it's kind of crappy (can't say I'm a big fan of this chapter myself), but trying to steer the story. And of course, all the characters belong to Uncle Rick!

 **Chapter 4:**

' _I've never felt that way with anyone,'_ the note said.

Piper and Hazel were in their fourth period class, AP French. They had been fluent in the famed language of love since both their moms knew how to speak it, so to them, this class was extremely easy. Piper had wanted to wait until fifth period lunch to tell Hazel the details about Jason, but Hazel insisted that she would die of impatience before then.

So for the last twenty minutes, Piper and Hazel had been secretly passing each other notes, careful not to let their teacher see.

Hazel got hold of the note and Piper watched from the corner of her eye has her friend's eyes widened. Hazel looked at Piper and a telepathic conversation ensued. It was obvious Hazel had not expected Piper to feel this way about some guy after a kiss. In fact, Piper was shocked herself. But there was no denying the tingly sensation she felt ever since her kiss with Jason. She knew for a fact that she never felt that way with Dylan. With her ex-boyfriend, it always seemed more rushed or lustful. It never felt as… magical and sincere as it did with Jason.

Hazel scribbled something on the paper and after a minute of looking at their teacher, she discreetly passed the note back to Piper.

' _Do you like him? It's only been one week since you met for him Olympus' sakes!'_

The Cherokee senior sighed inwardly. She knew it sounded ludicrous even though Piper was a romantic at heart. It was in her nature to believe in love and all that gushy stuff. For one thing, her parents' own love story of how they met and got married was like something out of a movie. She loved hearing that story as a kid before her mother tucked her into bed. But love at first sight? Having strong feelings for someone that she technically barely knew? She thought that she couldn't be that lucky or couldn't believe things like that even existed in real life.

Yet, here she was, her last year in high school, and already feelings bits of cloud nine.

Thinking about Jason made Piper's heart beat uncontrollably. How they were practically alone in the hallway, no one but them, kissing him… _Remember we're just pretending to date,_ she kept telling herself. _This is to teach Dylan a lesson._ She didn't want to be in another real relationship—she shouldn't _be_ in another relationship. But…

Writing back, Piper jotted down, _'I might have a crush on him. But that's it.'_ She passed the note back to Hazel and not a moment after she read the note, Piper heard a snort. Hazel knew Piper was half-bullshitting herself.

The teacher, Ms. Khione, looked at the two students and narrowed her eyes. From then on, Hazel and Piper kept it cool and stopped passing notes. Ms. Khione was known for giving some of the worst detentions.

When the lunch bell finally rang, Piper and Hazel rushed out of the classroom.

They were making their way through the Apollo plaza and to their usual hangout spot by the oak tree with nothing to say. Piper could feel her friend's eyes on her but she didn't dare be the first to speak—not when she had jumbled up feelings towards Jason.

"Piper… Seriously, do you like this guy? And I'm not talking about just crushing," Hazel asked, breaking the silence.

Piper shook her head no, but Hazel pulled on her arm and brought her aside next to the girl's bathroom. All around them, students were meeting each other, some of them claiming tables in the plaza and some of them trying to hurry to the food line in an attempt to get the warmest food. Other students were chatting near their lockers and some groups of friends settled themselves down on the grass. Piper saw familiar people like the Stoll brothers about to make a prank on Mr. D, the teacher for cooking class. She also saw another friend of hers, Silena Beauregard in her cheerleader captain's uniform, lounging by a tree with Frank's wrestling teammate, Charles Beckendorf. They were looking at each other longingly, as if they were the only two people in the world. It made Piper's heart melt every time she saw them. There was Clovis, sleeping on the grass as usual, with his stocky arm draped over his eyes to block out the beautiful sunlight. And also Clarisse la Rue, hanging by some of her beefy-looking friends; no doubt on the lookout for lunch money from Malcolm, the typical high school nerd. It was obvious that Piper tried to avoid the subject of Jason from Hazel, but she knew she had to answer. When Hazel grew serious, she could be scarier than Annabeth.

Hazel waited patiently for Piper's answer.

"I… I really don't know Hazel," Piper finally responded, rubbing her face in her hands. "It's weird for me too. I didn't expect to feel this way towards him and honestly, I'm trying not to."

Hazel pursed her lips and looked at her friend carefully. "Maybe… Maybe you don't need to."

"What?"

"I mean, what if Jason likes you back? The way you talk about him and how he acts around you, it kind of sounds like the real thing."

"You know we're just pretending."

"That's what I'm saying. You guys say you're pretending, but it already sounds like you guys are dating and really like each other."

Piper waved her hand dismissively. "That's ridiculous. It's only been one week—of KNOWING him."

"I'm not so sure," she countered. "When Jas—" Hazel's eyes widened. "Oh crap."

Hazel grabbed Piper's arm and they rushed inside the girl's bathroom. Piper looked at Hazel confusingly. "What was that for?"

"I saw Dylan with Drew and they were walking in our direction," Hazel said, but then the two girls became quiet. Outside the door, they heard Drew talking to someone, her voice getting louder and clearer as it neared the bathroom.

Piper and Hazel dashed inside the two vacant stalls and stayed silent. A couple seconds later, they heard the bathroom door burst open and three girls chattering to each other. Piper could already smell the strong floral perfume emitting from Drew, even though the stall door was in between them and the fact that they were in a bathroom (a school bathroom at that). Through the tiny crack, Piper could see the three girls standing in front of the mirror putting their makeup on. The two other girls, Kelli and Tammi, were putting on the brightest pink lipstick Piper had ever seen. They ran their fingers through their glossy blonde and brunette hair, trying to muss it up to make it look natural. Drew, a beautiful Asian girl with black raven hair and a slim frame, was in the middle putting on powder and then dark red lipstick that went well with her own outfit and brought out the light brown color of her eyes. All three girls were in their Goode High cheerleading uniforms, with Drew having the co-captain's emblem on her purple and white blouse. Unlike other cheerleading uniforms, Drew's skirt was way shorter than the rest.

"Did you see Silena with that Beckendorf kid? Talk about super gross! He's poor and he always works in that car shop!" Tammi exclaimed as she put on eyeliner.

"I told her to dump that boy a long time ago, but no, she said she was in _love._ Oh please," Kelli clucked with obvious distaste saturating her voice.

Drew chuckled darkly. "Now girls. We're proper ladies remember? And as Silena's _friend,_ it's our duty to make her see her mistake."

"What were you thinking Drew?" Kelli asked.

"Isn't it obvious? We just tell Silena that we saw Beckendorf with someone else! Maybe that Gwendolyn girl in our art class. Sometimes I see her in the car shop with him."

Kelli and Tammi had the audacity to laugh. "Or vice versa! As long as they split!"

"Exactly. Silena would be totally crushed, but she's our _friend_ and our _captain,"_ Drew said the last few words sarcastically. "We'll hook her up with someone that's worth her time and actually make this team look good. Like Dylan's friend Octavian. Sure he's not that good-looking, but he's _potential_. He's filthy rich since his great-grandfather is the owner of a huge solar power company. That's enough to offset any looks… at least until she can soak up as much presents as she can. That's what any girl should do. Honestly, how dare Silena just really fall in love with that punk and make our cheerleading squad look bad? Doesn't she remember the code? The rite of passage?"

Piper furrowed her brow in confusion, wondering what they were talking about.

"We match ourselves with the hottest guys in the school. And then break their hearts!" Kelli smirked viciously.

"Ah yes," Drew smiled as if she was reminiscing over her own twisted memories. "That's how our lovely Tammi got in. Who was that boy again? Bobby… whatever."

"Don't ask me. I don't remember his name. Don't care either," Tammi replied breezily. "All I remember was that he begged to take me back. So pathetic."

Piper physically recoiled from their words and felt her blood boil. She could not seriously believe what she was hearing. She remained quiet when Tammi continued, "Why don't we hook Silena up with that weird Nico kid?"

The bathroom got quiet for a moment. Then the three girls burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh-please-ha-ha!" Kelli mumbled through breaths.

"That would be so hilarious! Silena with that emo-loser Nico? I think Silena almost deserves him. Her relationship with Beckendorf is an embarrassment to us all."

In the next stall, Piper could practically feel death and absolute hatred radiating from Hazel. Piper prayed to the gods that Hazel could keep her cool—even though she wanted to slam the door open and sock them in their perfect, flawless faces herself. Nico was Hazel's little brother and although he was kind of solitary with his goth-like appearance screaming at people to leave him alone, he was actually a pretty cool person when you were lucky to know him. Drew and those idiots were just being bullies.

"At least I snagged a hunk like Dylan Miller. He is my new target after all," Drew added smugly.

"Wasn't he dating that Piper McLean girl though?" Tammi asked.

Piper's heart skipped a beat, and she moved closer to the stall crack to listen more carefully.

Drew just shrugged her shoulders while she was braiding her hair into mermaid braids. Tammi was leaning against the sink at this point while Kelli was redoing her mascara. _Does it take this long to put on makeup_ , Piper wondered. But she focused back on the Asian girl before her.

Drew said, "Yeah he was. I don't know why. I've had class with her before and all she does is stay silent in the back of the classroom with that weird hood on. She's so hideous with her chopped up hair that manages to peek out. Seriously, ever heard of a hair stylist? Plus, the clothes she wears? Nauseating and undeniably cheap! She's like a Dumpster Queen!"

The two other cheerleaders snickered with their leader. Piper automatically felt her face flaming and she clenched her fists, remembering feelings she didn't have since Malibu.

"Thank gods Dylan is smart," Kelli said. "Of course he'd pick you over Dumpster Face."

Drew nodded her head, agreeing whole heartedly with Kelli. "Don't get me wrong. I had to give a little… incentive. He wasn't prepared to kiss me at his house that day but he gave way soon enough after I showed him what he would be missing out on. I don't even know what he saw in Piper. She's probably poor as hell and plus, Dylan told me I'm so much more beautiful than Dumpster Queen when we finally hit it off. I knew that of course, but still. Easy."

 _Ugh, I'm not a Dumpster Queen!_ Piper bristled with anger. But she felt her cheeks flood with more color due to embarrassment, much to her dismay.

"No one would ever get with Piper. She's a nobody. But anyways, enough about that girl. Honestly, who I really wanna date is someone like Will Solace. Or _Jason Grace_ ," Drew said dreamily.

Kelli squealed. "OH MY GODS! He is SO hot!"

"He's as cute as Percy Jackson!" Tammi said. "Too bad he's taken though…"

Piper could tell the blonde wanted to add more, but even those three girls didn't have the balls to go against Annabeth. Hades, she wouldn't either.

"I heard that Jason and Reyna just broke up! You can make your move Drew! He would totally fall for you," Kelli said excitedly like the perfect minion she was.

Drew smiled prettily to herself in the mirror. "Yeah. Well, I'll stick with Dylan for a little while. I heard he wants to buy me this beautiful necklace so I'll wait until then. It's not like Jason Grace is going anywhere either."

The bathroom door suddenly opened and Piper could hear Clarisse's sneer voice. "Bathroom's taken prissies, and I don't want your stinking perfume suffocating me. Get out."

The three cheerleaders just rolled their eyes and after a few moments, they exited the bathroom. Clarisse went inside the stall next to Hazel, which gave them the opportunity to flee.

When Piper and Hazel ran out of the bathroom, the glare from the sun made Piper squint. She had no idea how long she had been inside the stall, but it seemed like forever. Without a word to each other, Piper and Hazel walked hastily to the Nike plaza. No doubt everyone was waiting for them.

While walking, Piper tried to process what she just heard in the bathroom. She couldn't believe Drew could be such a bitch. She never encountered Drew and only had class with her a couple times. Never did they say hi to each other. Despite that, Piper just figured she was a nice person. Obviously that was far from the truth. What Drew said about her best friend's brother was just plain awful. Piper had been the angriest when the group of cheerleading nitwits were dissing Nico. She just wanted to march out the stall and slap her across the face… But then she'd probably get detention or suspended and that would only make Drew haughtier… And the fact that she _knew_ Dylan was taken but went after him anyways and encouraged him to cheat on her? Didn't that violate the rules of feminism somewhere?

Next to her, Hazel, who had been eerily quiet this entire time, stopped mid-track and slapped her hand against the wall. "Those girls," she growled, "won't get away with this."

There was sworn retribution shining in Hazel's eyes and Piper knew that one way or another, Drew, Tammi, and Kelli would get what was coming to them. If there was one thing to be terrified about Hazel, she kept grudges when things got very personal. "Hey, about what Drew and them said about your brother? You know that's not true. Your brother is so awesome."

"I know," Hazel said. "But still, no one talks about Nico that way, even though he is weird. And of course, what she did to YOU Piper. I just can't believe she could stoop so low!"

Piper looked away, trying to fight the urge to seek the crazy co-captain of the cheerleading team and call her out. If Piper had to be honest with herself though, what Drew said kind of hit home for Piper—how ugly she was or that no one cared about her. That was the same thing that Dylan told her when he dumped her sorry ass. She kept a hood on for a reason. Like Malibu, it was to give her some sort of protection or shield from people like Dylan and Drew. Her secret fear was that she would be judged or made fun of because of what her parents were—and of course, that failed miserably anyways. Even starting a new life somewhere else, she still managed to make a few enemies. She was still getting attention; bad attention.

"Hey," Hazel said, catching Piper's attention. "Don't listen to what she said. You didn't even have to try to get Dylan. But Drew had no principles. She's wrong about you."

"It's okay, and thanks for trying to cheer me up. But hey, it's already been… fifteen minutes and I bet Annabeth and them are waiting for us. Let's go." Piper and Hazel jogged to the plaza and immediately they saw their friends plus Jason and Leo sitting on the table underneath the oak tree. All of them had their lunch out, with the boys munching happily on their meals.

"Where were you guys?" Frank said as Hazel arrived. He grabbed her hand and softly caressed it, making Hazel feel better.

"Oh just had to go to the bathroom," she replied nonchalantly.

"For fifteen minutes?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Beside Percy, his girlfriend examined Piper and Hazel. Right off the bat, Annabeth knew that something happened and that she would be informed later on when she sensed her friends' hesitation. "Yeah. Women right?" Annabeth said, trying to change the subject.

The guys just grumbled in agreement. Piper and Hazel sat down with Hazel getting comfortable next to Frank and Piper sitting in between Jason and his quirky friend Leo. Piper asked Frank, "Have you guys introduced yourselves yet? Hazel, this is Jason and that's Leo."

Hazel smiled. "Hi, nice to meet you guys." Jason and Leo reciprocated her greeting.

"Yeah, we just met each other now. So… you guys are dating now?" Frank asked, pointing at Jason and Piper with his plastic fork.

Piper looked at Hazel, who just shrugged her shoulders. "Wow, he doesn't know yet? I figured you would've told him."

"Well, this whole weekend, Frank and I didn't really get a chance to talk one on one. His grandma from Canada came to visit and so we spent a lot of time with her. Such a nice lady," Hazel explained.

"Yeah, if you like getting yelled at 6 in the morning for not doing practice drills," Frank grunted. Hazel only patted her boyfriend's shoulder soothingly.

Leo chortled. "Your grandma makes you do practice drills in the morning? What is she, a military sergeant or something?"

Frank just stared at Leo with a deadpanned look. "Oh…" was all Leo could say.

"Running three miles was actually kind of fun!" Hazel laughed. "But anyways, enough about Frank's grandma. We ALL don't really know the details between you and Jason so spill the beans Pipes!"

"What's there to say? Dylan dumped me and so Jason, the kind and generous fellow that he is, decided to dedicate some of his time to be my 'boyfriend' so that Dylan could see that I'm not waiting around for him like some pathetic pansy. He'd be so pissed off at that," Piper chirped.

Frank chuckled. "You really think Dylan's going to care that you're dating someone else? He has his own little… groupie now or whatever with those cheerleaders."

Piper and Hazel stole a quick glance at each other with the subtle mention of Drew.

"Definitely," Leo answered Frank. "Dylan's a self-centered jerk. 'I'm Dylan. I'm so cool. I want to date myself, but I don't know how! You want to date me instead? You're so lucky!'" Leo said with the goofiest face and a horrible monk-voice of Dylan.

Everyone around the table burst into laughter at Leo's dumb impersonation. "Pretty spot on, I should say," Hazel said, still chuckling a little.

"Leo's right though," Annabeth added. "I'm pretty good at reading people—"

"That's an understatement," Percy mumbled while popping a blueberry in his mouth.

Annabeth glared at Percy, but Percy, being used to Annabeth's intimidating looks (well, _almost_ used to it), stood his ground with an innocent look on his face. Piper couldn't help but laugh at their relationship dynamics. He was perfect for Annabeth in the sense that he could tame her even if only by a little bit.

" _ANYWAYS,_ as I was saying before Seaweed Brain interrupted me, I only met Dylan a couple of times and frankly, he's very narcissistic and only cares about his own reputation."

"So it makes sense that a typical reaction from Dylan would be to get really mad and jealous… and probably come after Piper so he could try to win her back and show everyone that he can get any girl he wants," Jason deduced.

"Mm-hmm, except if he even tries to go thirty feet near me, I'll tell him to back off or else I'd unleash a can of whoop ass on him… or I could sick Annabeth and Hazel on him; both works," Piper grinned.

"You could send us too," Frank said while Percy smirked.

"And the Valdezinator. I'd just find any reason to beat him up."

"And especially me," Jason said putting his arm around Piper protectively. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

Piper blushed at the way he said it. "Thanks Jason."

He smiled gently and turned around to talk to Leo. Piper took the opportunity to study him yet again. Nice blonde hair, gorgeous electric blue eyes, and… was that a scar on his lip? _Huh, I have to ask him about that later._ Thinking about Jason and the way he was already so sincere and sweet to her, it made Piper secretly wonder for a moment that when all this pretending was over… she could see herself actually dating Jason for real. He was the ideal boyfriend: nice, handsome, smart, polite. Above all, he was a caring and good-hearted person. It didn't even take long for him to already be friends with her own, she thought as she watched Jason and Leo talk to Percy and Frank about the upcoming basketball season.

And what was that comment that Hazel said earlier? That she should just go ahead and try to date him anyways. Was Hazel crazy, or was she on to something here?

Well, she could definitely imagine being Jason's real girlfriend, but the thing was, she didn't think that she _should_ be in a relationship. Yeah she was getting revenge on Dylan, but she figured that she would remain single when the whole ordeal was over, or at least, that's what she told herself before she proposed her plan to Jason. She still had a lot to learn when it came to relationships—and some personal growing up to do—and she didn't want to take out her own insecurities on the next unfortunate guy that came her way. She had a lot of bad memories, some of them traumatic from her old school, and she couldn't add her problems to him.

Plus… Piper was surprised to hear that Jason and a girl named Reyna recently broke up. He didn't mention her before, which was odd. Whatever it was, it was none of her business, and the more she dwelled on this girl, the more her relationship with him became real.

It was probably best to just go separate ways after Plan-Make-Dylan-Look-Like-A-Complete-Idiot was done.

Straying away from those thoughts, all around her, Piper studied the pleasant atmosphere around her group of friends that were sitting around the table. Annabeth was now scolding Percy for putting a red shirt in his whites, Hazel and Leo were talking about their fortunes from the cookies that Frank brought with him for lunch today, and Frank and Jason were idly chatting about WWE and how stupid it is compared to real wrestling. Piper was amazed and delighted to find that the two extra people at their usual table today fit right in with her friends. At the same time, she was grateful that her own friends had taken in the duo with such open arms. The atmosphere was so comfortable, that she almost believed that this happened on a daily basis.

"What do you mean I look like a Latino's elf?" Leo exclaimed, interrupting Piper's thoughts.

Hazel tried stifling a laugh, but everyone just looked at the two of them since they were suddenly interested in Leo's outburst.

"You know what… she's actually kind of right," Jason said.

"Yes… your ears are kind of pointy, and your eyes are kind of slanted as if you're plotting something diabolical… and then there's that mischievous smirk that you always have that makes it seem like you just did something naughty," Annabeth said as she analyzed Leo.

"Oh… you know I can do some naughty stuff," Leo purred to Annabeth. He was silenced by one of her signature stink eyes, to which Percy laughed heartily.

Piper smiled. "But you do look like an elf."

Leo smacked his head against the table. "But elves aren't good-looking," he mumbled, his face still squished against the metal table.

Everyone tried hiding their laughs, but Leo kept talking. "Yeah, yeah, make fun of me. That's why I'll probably put spiders in all of your lockers tomorrow as revenge."

Annabeth choked on the water she was drinking, her eyes widening and her muscles locking. Leo looked at her in shock, and Percy told him, "She's absolutely terrified of spiders."

"Oh. Then I'll make sure to put double the amount," Leo winked.

Annabeth looked like she was about to punch him when he put his arms up defensively and said, "Kidding, kidding! No one's getting spiders in their lockers tomorrow… Although I probably can't promise next week—OUCH!" He earned a solid smack in the arm from Annabeth, and he scrambled to promise that he would never, ever put spiders in her locker—yes, he promised on the the River Styx.

Just then, the lunch bell rang and the group gathered their things to go back to class. "Ready?" Jason asked as he held out his hands for his 'girlfriend.'

Taking it, Piper smiled. "Yeah. I am." Together, they walked to their next respective classes, hand-in-hand.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys! Sorry for the LONG wait. No excuses. Here's the next chapter in "The Story of Us" and I hope you guys like it! Read and review! :)

 **Chapter 5:**

News spread fast throughout Goode High School. A couple of weeks had passed and almost the entire senior class knew of Jason and Piper. Reactions had been different amongst the student body, but of course that was expected. Most teens didn't really seem to care, which is what Jason and Piper were hoping for. Some people were mad at first, specifically Reyna's friends who had no idea of the plan. Reyna had been a good friend, and had informed her own friends that _she_ was the one that dumped the star quarterback, and so she had no hard feelings towards him and his new girlfriend. If she could be civil with him, there was no reason for her friends to hate him, she said. While she was being supportive however, Jason could feel her eyes on him sometimes and he had no idea what to make of it. She preferred to have her space, but Jason couldn't help but feel worried about what was below the surface. He wished he could talk to her.

The people that were genuinely happy were the ones inclusive of the plan. Since the beginning of the first week, the seven teenagers had spent their lunches together in an attempt to get to know one another and found that Jason and Leo had been a wonderful addition to the larger group. It wasn't too hard, since Leo's sense of humor usually found a way to make even the frostiest people smile. Jason and Piper had gotten closer, but kept their distance by establishing the physical limits to just hand-holding and friendly hugs for now. In fact, Jason and Piper hadn't kissed on the lips since that Monday morning, both of them still reeling themselves in from the depth of what they felt during their first lip-locking. They wanted things to be slower and natural, and they comfortably kept their interactions on the more amicable side.

Most importantly, the one that felt that most pissed off, was their acquired target Dylan Miller. As soon as he had heard of his ex-girlfriend falling for the _Jason Grace_ (he couldn't even stand to think of his name), he was seething. To Dylan, Piper was _his_ girl, even if he had dumped her for another girl—which he had broken up with recently due to the news. Oh, he had tried to track Piper down and have some alone time with her, but every single time he had a chance to even come across her, she was either with her friends, that idiotic Leo Valdez, and Jason freaking Grace. It annoyed Dylan to see a stupid jock have his hands around his chick, and Dylan slowly but surely began to make a plan to get his once-girlfriend back in his arms where she belonged. Drew and her minions on the other hand was furious—but not at Dylan. Oh no. Drew's petty mind set its sights on Piper instead. To think that she was dumped for Dumpster Queen had hurt her ego, and she too began to plot her own twisted revenge with the help of her cheerleading friends.

All of this was still unbeknownst to Jason and Piper, who over the last few weeks, have focused so much time on themselves that it was easy to forget their goal. That was, until a Friday morning in Calculus class. Jason and Leo had been hanging back in the corner of the class, talking about plans for the weekend.

"I have this date with this girl named Isabel tomorrow night," Leo said, as he fidgeted with some washers, grommets, and piper cleaners.

"You nervous or something?" Jason asked.

"Me? Leo Valdez? Thee hunk extraordinaire? How could I possibly be nervous!"

"…"

"Tch. Yeah, okay I'm nervous all right! Why did she have to be so damn pretty!" Leo said as he slumped in his chair. "And you already have Piper who's already a ten, so you don't even need to worry about getting a beautiful girl."

"Dude," Jason replied.

"Seriously. Isabel is a high maintenance girl, which hey when push comes to shove, I can swing that way too! As far as Piper goes, I bet she even pays the check for your dates."

"Umm…"

Leo looked at Jason incredulously. "What do you mean 'um?' Wait, I know that dumb look Grace… have you even taken Piper out on a date yet?"

Jason shook his head, confused. "Should I?"

"Should—? Are you serious? What kind of freaking boyfriend are you!" Leo exclaimed, getting some attention from the other two students in the classroom.

"Leo man, shut up real quick," Jason said, making sure that the rest of the class lost interest in them before he continued to talk. "I don't know. I mean we're just pretending and what not, and we're still getting to know each other. I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

Leo smacked his hand on his head, looking up with an expression of disbelief on his face. "For someone that could get any girl he wanted being the famous quarterback and all, you totally suck at dating. Listen fool, let me, the Valdezinator, give you a lesson or two on wooing the lay-dez."

"I'm not trying to woo Piper…" Jason said, but Leo looked at him doubtfully.

"Yeah anyways, let me give you a lesson or two on wooing the lay-dez. First off, make them feel special. Give them flowers, chocolate, promises you don't intend to keep, the works. Then take them out on an amazing date where there's candles, good food, and some dude with the violin playing next to you. Then, for the love of gods, do not let her pay for the check. Chicks get pissed when they have to do it. Well, Piper would probably be too nice to let you pay, but still, don't do it or you'll look bad. Then when you drop her off home and you're on her doorstep, you make your move! And boom, Leo's homemade recipe for love!"

"Yeah… sounds great Leo, but I don't even think I can afford a really fancy dinner for that matter," Jason said, rolling his eyes.

"Touché. Well, why don't you do something simple. Like mini-golfing," Leo suggested.

Jason thought for a moment, and figured why not? "Mini-golfing sounds like a good idea actually. I'll ask Piper if she wants go out some time this weekend."

"Sweet. Hey, but be sure to do it at any other time besides 8-10 pm tomorrow. That way, I can totally spy on you," Leo responded flippantly.

"Yeah, not gonna happen," Jason said. And plus, he wanted to be alone with Piper. He had spent a lot of time with her, but it was rare for them to have a single moment together in person. Jason was swamped with football practices, and it left him with just nightly calls to her. Plus, whenever he did have time to hang out with her, she either had earlier plans with Annabeth or Hazel, or was stuck doing homework. Hopefully this time, him and Piper could hang out just as a 'couple.'

Leo only huffed. "You always take the fun out of everything. I guess I'll just have to hang by the only mini-golf course in town then for the weekend…"

Jason laughed, turning around when he heard their Calculus teacher walking into the classroom. He had to admit though, Jason owed Leo for the advice about the 'lay-dez.'

Later that night after football practice, Jason rang up Piper. Thankfully, she was still awake but her voice was definitely thick with some exhaustion. "Hello?" she said.

"Hey Piper. Sorry that it's so late. Coach Hedge made us stay an extra hour in."

"S'okay." Jason heard yawning on the other side, and so he decided to ask her now before she became too incoherent to understand him.

"So Piper… I was thinking. I realized that I haven't actually really asked you out on a… Well, a date."

"Oh?" Piper replied, sounding a little more awake now.

"Yeah, and I'm really sorry about it. I mean, I must be a horrible guy and—"

"Whoa, whoa calm down Sparky. None of that. We're just pretending remember? You're not obligated to do anything."

"Yeah… I guess you're right," Jason said, feeling a little bummed from her comment but knew it had to be that way. He also didn't know that her words also hurt Piper to say.

Noticing the awkwardness that she started, Piper immediately tried to divert the tension and thus inquired about the date that Jason had for them.

"I was thinking something simple. Like bowling with just you and me. I would take you mini-golfing, but Leo suggested that and knowing him, he was 100% serious about staking out the golf course just to 'accidentally' run into us."

Piper laughed. "Sounds fun Sparky. And Jason? I would love to go on a date with you."

On his end, Jason let out a huge grin and they started planning out the details some more. "I'm thinking maybe 7 o' clock if that's okay with you?"

"Actually I won't be available until 8 so is that fine?"

' _Guess Leo would be twice as disappointed,'_ Jason chuckled to himself. "8 is perfect. I can pick you up."

"Yes please! I usually get a ride from Annabeth or Hazel but seeing as this is kind of a covert operation…"

"Of course milady. Can't wait to see you."

"Can't wait either, Sparky. Hey I'm gonna go ahead and catch up on some sleep." Piper said, though she didn't know if she could even go back to sleep now.

"Alright. See you tomorrow Pipes," he said.

Piper was silent for a moment, not actually minding at all that he called her a name that was usually reserved for people that she considered close to her. "See you. Goodnight Jason."

They hung up, and both of them stayed awake for a while just thinking about each other.

Jason was about to fall asleep when he heard some branches rustle outside of his window. He glanced outside at the tree, not seeing anything. He shrugged his shoulders, knowing it was probably just some raccoon scampering up and down the tree trunk. Shifting to his side, Jason smiled, clearly excited for tomorrow's events.

Soon enough, it was 7 o' clock and Piper was currently getting ready for her "date" with Jason Grace. She was wearing something comfortable instead of the usual flashy outfit that a girl might normally wear on a first date with a cute guy. For one, she wanted to kick his ass in bowling, and that wasn't going to happen if she was in a restricting skirt. Plus, it was just a "date" with her pretend boyfriend…

But the more she thought about it, the more she admitted to herself that it didn't feel like pretend anymore. They've only been going out for a couple of weeks, and they made sure to start off as friends before actually executing their plan with full speed ahead. It was her that actually suggested that, and it was only because the first kiss she had with Jason surprised her. Talking with Hazel and Annabeth about their conversation during French, and of course talking about the bratty cheerleaders in the school bathroom, Piper realized that she may have been slowly falling for Jason. The thought of that made her uneasy, thinking it was stupid to feel this way about someone so soon. Not to mention a little embarrassing. So she tried hard to just remain friends and remind herself that this was all pretend. Her plan of starting off "slow" first backfired though, because she grew to like him even more as she got to know him.

"It's just pretend, come on McLean," Piper mumbled to herself over and over, wanting to slap herself for good measure.

She heard the doorbell ring, and then Mellie call for her a moment later. Putting her hair up into a ponytail quickly and collecting the necessary items to go bowling, she went downstairs to see Jason standing by the door.

She smiled at him, ready to show him up. "Well, well, ready to get your ass handed over tonight?"

"Unlikely, McLean," he smirked back, ready for the challenge.

Both of them hopped in his car, making small talk on the way to the alley. Piper thought he looked handsome tonight, but kept that casual thought to herself. She appreciated the comfort between each other, and more so geared herself for the competition later. She smirked in pride, confident in her bowling abilities.

Once they got there, Piper was surprised to see Jason get a pair out of bowling shoes out of his trunk. "Er, what are those?" Piper said, though she knew exactly what it was.

Jason smirked at her. "Huh? These old things? Yeah, forgot to tell you, my dad's an expert in bowling. Me and him always liked it because the sound of the pins crashing is like a thunderclap. Taught me all there was to know. But don't worry, I can give you a few pointers if you just admit defeat now."

"Ha ha, but I don't go down that easily," Piper responded, re-measuring her competition and trying not to laugh. She had her own flashy intimidation tactics as well.

The two of them entered the alley, and they were relieved to see that the place wasn't as packed as the place should have been on a typical Saturday night. "Aren't we lucky?" Piper said. The two of them approached the desk, reserving a lane along with Piper getting her shoes. While they were picking out their bowling balls, Piper happened to whip out the bowling glove that was in her back pocket, making sure that her date saw exactly what she was wearing.

"What the hell is that?" Jason demanded.

"This old thing?" Piper said innocently. "Oh yeah, forgot to tell you. My dad used to be in a bowling tournament with his buddies when I was growing up. Highest score he got? 299 out of 300. And guess who he passed on his amazing skills to?"

"Brag all you want McLean," Jason laughed, excited to get a worthy opponent.

"I definitely will. While I dance under the rain that is your tears."

Nine frames later, and Piper and Jason were neck to neck in the score: 213 to 213. Piper went first and was able to get two strikes in a row. On the final frame, she split the pins that left three standing, earning an evil diabolical laughter from her so-called friend behind her.

"What happened to the chivalrous Jason that I knew and liked so much?" Piper whined.

"About to comfort you after this Jason beats you," he said.

Piper grumbled, but good-naturedly took a seat to watch the show.

Jason prepared himself to bowl his tenth frame, turning around and winking at Piper to make sure she was about to see victory. She blushed and pointedly stared at the ceiling, and Jason smiled because he liked the effect he was having on her. But now it was time to focus. He stood in front of the lane, poised and ready to get a strike. The first toss and of course, he did as he expected himself to do. On the next toss, he got another strike, making Piper squirm in anxiety on her seat.

This last throw was a cinch. Unlike Piper who hated pressure, Jason thrived on it. He was a good athlete for a reason, and he carried over that trait with anything that he did: sports, school, and definitely bowling with a pretty girl watching him. Pressure just happened to be Jason's middle name.

Jason breathed calmly, cocked back his arm, ready to throw the ball and settle the challenge once and for all.

"HEY YO GRACE!"

"SHIT!"

Jason stumbled terribly at the sound of the booming voice. The ball was thrown lopsidedly, and the ball rolled down the lane, only hitting four pins.

Jason whirled around, to find none other than Leo Valdez grinning at him, Piper laughing with tears in her eyes, and the rest of the gang saying hi and flopping down on the chairs to change out of their shoes to bowling ones.

Leo whistled, looking at the score. "Man Jason, you let Piper whoop you in bowling? And I thought Jason Grace was just good at everything."

"What are you guys doing here? And how did you know we were going bowling?" Jason asked.

"I have my ways of getting information," Leo said, making some weird fluid motions with his hands and arms.

Jason immediately thought back to last night, realizing that the rustling on the tree may not have been a raccoon. "You spied on me didn't you?"

"Okay fine, you found me out! But really, how could you keep important details like this from me? Luckily I'm your best bro and I KNEW you'd be a crappy friend and change the details of your date just to spite me, and so I took it upon myself to climb your tree and listen in on where you planned on going. Of course, I called everyone so that we could crash the date Leo-style. Good thing too, because that was way too funny seeing you trip out on the last frame all because of dear old me."

Jason just frogged Leo in the shoulder, but thankfully someone was there to defend him.

"Don't feel too bad Jason, Leo forgot to mention that he also ungracefully fell out of your tree and landed flat on his ass," Annabeth said.

"Hey!"

"Well you're right. I don't feel too bad now," Jason chuckled.

"With that being said," Annabeth proceeded to punch both Jason and Piper in the arm, much to their protest and dismay. "You guys are idiots for not telling us you were on a date! Making us work extra hard to embarrass you guys on your little outing."

"Told you Annabeth would find a way to double date with you guys," Percy whispered to Jason.

"What was that Percy?" Annabeth said with an eyebrow raised.

"I told him that they were stupid for deceiving you babe," Percy said with an innocent smile, earning a defeated shake of the head from his girlfriend.

"We would've been here earlier too, if it weren't for Frank getting stuck in a Chinese trap," Leo tried hard to contain his laughter.

Frank just glared at Leo. "Shut up. One, I never heard of that stuff okay? Two, that thing is not Chinese. Besides, we would've missed messing Jason up. That was worth it."

"Indeed Frank, indeed it was," Hazel said.

Piper got up from her seat and pulled Jason aside while everyone started to crowd around the control panel and input their names, with Leo arguing with Hazel about putting his name as "Lady Killer." "So, I guess I won," she said while trying not to smile too much at his misfortune. She did grab his hand though and proceeded to put it around her waist; a big move on her part.

Jason studied her, and he grinned. "Nah, I think I won," he said, pulling her a little closer.

Completely aware of their positioning, they decided to hell with their "just-hand-holding-rule" as Jason and Piper's lips inched closer to each other.

"JASON! Get your wuvvy-butt over here and I'll show you how bowling is supposed to be done!" Leo crowed from the chairs.

Jason and Piper pulled away quickly, but not before Jason saw her shooting a really flirtatious look at him. Jason said, "Our usual wager then?"

"Yup, 50 push-ups for the loser," Leo grinned.

"Piper you're up first!" Hazel called out.

As Piper went up to do her first frame, Jason sat down next to Leo, remembering another detail about tonight that he forgot to ask. "Hey Leo, what happened with Isabel?"

Leo's grin faded a little, but then he cheered right back up. "Ahh, she called it off, saying she had to do homework or something, but I doubt it. Someone like her? There's probably some lovesick fool doing it for her. Besides, I can't imagine she'd be down to hang out here with us."

Jason glanced at Piper jumping up and down as she got another strike. "Yeah, this is fun. Glad you're here instead of being with Isabel," Jason hoped he was making his friend feel better.

"I'm glad to see you happy, by the way," Leo said.

"What?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Just glad to see you happy," Leo responded vaguely, but then his eyes traveled to a certain kaleidoscopic-eyed teenager and Jason knew what he was talking about.

Jason nodded his head, appreciating his best friend's perceptiveness.

It was the end of the night, after playing a few rounds of bowling. Everyone said their farewells at the parking lot (with Jason and Piper solemnly swearing to the group that they would not have any more secret dates), and Jason sped off to drop his date off home before it became too suspiciously late for her guardian's liking. During the car ride home, the couple recounted the night's earlier events with great humor. Although their date was interrupted by their best friends, they agreed that the night would not have been the same without them. If it were any possible, the seven of them had gotten closer than ever, with spirits being high and happy. Though, it made sense, seeing as how they were not in the confines that was their school. Still, it was a great experience for everyone, and plans were set to do something similar again the following weeks.

Once they reached Piper's house, Jason walked hand-in-hand with her to the front steps of the house. Piper thought it was practically cliché of them to just stand idly on the porch, but she didn't mind it at all with the way he was making her feel.

And how did he make her feel?

"I had a really great time tonight, Pipes," Jason said, as he traced tiny circles on her hand.

"Me too. I'm really glad you asked me out," Piper admitted to him.

He nodded his head, fully content with just staring into her eyes. All he wanted to do was kiss her at the moment, but he was conflicted with how she felt. Taking the logical route, he attempted to ask her. "Piper, umm… I…"

She got the hint, as she slyly said, "You can kiss me."

He smiled gratefully as he grabbed her chin and collided her lips with his own. She wrapped her arms around him as their kiss began to deepen. Both of them casted aside their rules, admitting to themselves that they had wanted to do this since the first time it was done, and feeling like this moment was right and perfectly clear. After a few seconds, they pulled back with shaky breaths. It was more amazing than they remembered.

"I better get inside," Piper tried to say calmly, but she was still trying to recollect herself.

"Okay. I'll see you on Monday?"

"Monday for sure," she agreed. She opened up the front door, flashing him a beautiful smile before she disappeared inside her house.

Piper and Jason smiled to themselves, with Jason driving home feeling on cloud nine, and Piper being unable to sleep as she dreamily memorized the exact detail of how Jason Grace had kissed her silly just moments before.


	6. Chapter 6

FINALLY. This chapter is up! Good news, one and a half more weeks of school. Bad news? One and a half more weeks of school. Hope you like this chapter! I'll try to update as soon as I can! (Again, Percy Jackson and the rest of the wonderful series is not owned by me nor was it created by me. Thankful for Rick Riordan!)

 **Chapter 6:**

A week had passed since Jason and Piper's (and everyone else's…) date happened. Now it was an early October Sunday and it had been a long day for Jason. After an entire afternoon of chores and homework, his mom had barged into his room clearly upset and armed with an obvious agenda. She had just heard from one of the neighbors that Jason was in a relationship, and to someone that his mom had never even heard of. She demanded that he tell her who this "Piper" was, but Jason was hesitant to tell her since he didn't know how she'd react. Okay, so he did have an idea, he just didn't like it. His mom was all about reputation, and if Piper wasn't on the top tier of the popularity scale at Goode High, then his mom would throw a fit.

She had been ranting for a full ten minutes now, her accusations and harsh words making it hard for Jason to remind himself that he sincerely loved his mom. That what she was doing wasn't just out of her own selfish world, but that she was also just protective of him.

"Jason, what does she even do? What do her parents do? Are you sure you want to be with someone like… that?" his mom had said, crafting her words carefully as if she were walking through a minefield and any word would blow her to bits if she didn't watch where she was stepping. It was the same tone of voice she used when Thalia was still in high school, but it had always failed miserably before. He didn't know why she thought it would work on him.

Of course, he became angry at what his own mother was suggesting. He could have told her that he was pretending to date Piper just to placate her. Really, the last thing he wanted was a callous reprimand from his mom after a tiresome day. But there was a fury growing inside him about his mom's attitude that rubbed him the wrong way. And Jason definitely didn't like how she wasn't even planning on giving Piper a chance. They may have not been official, she may not be well off like him, and she may not be well known in school, but he didn't care. Piper was his friend and he didn't like it when people, including his own mom, judged people by their money. Jason himself hated it when people treated him differently because of his dad, and he wasn't about to end up close-minded like his mom.

"Yeah, I'm sure I want to be with someone like that," Jason argued, trying in vain to keep his emotions in check.

His mom was ready for this answer since her facial expression seemed unfazed. She kept on probing. "Honey, I don't think you know what you want yet. What about Reyna? Remember her? She's beautiful, everyone loves and adores her, and her parents are well known politicians so she comes from a long line of…" Jason knew she wanted to say money, but, "importance. Wouldn't it be best if you went with her instead? Piper would only bring you down."

The mention of Reyna, the accusation of Piper, and the accumulation of an exhausting day sent Jason past the threshold. His mom clearly didn't care that Reyna let him go, only that he would be more popular if he were to date her. Times like these, he wondered when his mom started to care more about what people thought about their family than what he thought about her. "Can't say Reyna is in the equation here, Mom. Considering she dumped me," he said through gritted teeth. He walked out of the house before she could get another word in.

So here he was now, walking around the neighborhood with no intention of going anywhere. He just wanted to get his mind off things, but that was a hard thing to overcome. His ex-girlfriend had been looming in the back of his mind, and since his mom had point blank talked about her, that's all he was thinking about presently. Jason was eager to talk to Reyna and see where they were at, because the more he got to know Piper, the more he wanted to be around her. But Reyna was still his friend, and he cared about her a lot too. The glances she would send his way made him wonder if he was doing things right. She was a big reason why it was so hard to think about Piper in an unbiased light. If he had to be honest with himself, he still didn't know how he felt about Reyna yet. She was still someone that he loved, but the ache that stemmed from their break up began to heal. However, he now wondered how Reyna was truly feeling. He had a hunch that he may hurt Reyna with the inevitable path he was walking down, but she still denied seeing him until she was ready.

In regards to Piper, she became someone that Jason cared about on many levels. He didn't care whatsoever where she came from or what she or her parents did for a living or that she wasn't an acclaimed athlete at school like himself and Reyna. What he did know were the good parts about her, like how creative and smart she was, and her thoughtfulness and loyalty. He also found her spitfire personality an attractive trait, and her competitiveness came in different forms, just not in sports.

And their kiss last week… He shook his head.

All in all, Piper was a good person and he was happy to be her friend. _And something more,_ he thought to himself.

After walking for another twenty minutes, Jason felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw his sister's name flash across the screen. No doubt his mom had called Thalia, but there was no use in ignoring her call. That would just fuel Thalia's persistence.

"Yes?"

"Well good afternoon to you too little brother," he heard her sister drawl sarcastically.

"Sorry, not in a good mood right now."

"I can tell," Thalia said. "I won't pretend to think that you don't know why I'm calling. Beryl called me and she's freaking out that you want to stick around with your new girlfriend. Apparently she's a bad influence on you? Don't know what the hell is going on, so you better start talking."

Jason sighed. Where to start? Plus, he never failed to notice how Thalia stopped calling her "Mom" and instead addressed their mother by her first name. Thalia and his mom never really had a great relationship, and it was only recently that she stopped calling her by her title. He wondered if he was ever going to get to that point, where he disregarded her so much that he didn't even see her as a mom anymore. Sometimes, like now, it felt that way. It felt like he was just being used to uphold his mom's glamorous reputation.

"Jason? You there? You better not have hung up on me."

"Sorry Thals. Okay, she thinks Piper's bad for me because she may just be some average person instead of someone popular at school. Not only is she wrong because Piper's far from average, but she doesn't know Piper like I do and she doesn't care does she? All she thinks about is how I need to have this perfect, celebrity life with the perfect girlfriend just so she can brag to other people about how amazing of a son I am and how 'great' of a mom she is. And well I'm not interested in having that kind of life. Reyna and me aren't together because she didn't want me, and I've come to accept it. And now that I met someone who's…"

"… Really awesome?" Thalia finished for him.

"I've just been pretty happy, that's all. I could've told her the truth and say that Piper and I aren't actually together, but why do that? I hate it when Mom judges people on how much money they're worth… And it's stupid that Mom doesn't care about us like that," Jason blew out a breath, trying to recollect himself after his rant. "I don't know what else to say."

It was quiet on the other end, but he remained silent since Thalia was thinking of what to say next. When it came to situations like these where someone was in a bad mood, his sister had the ability to just take a minute to soak things in and speak her thoughts once it was clear and concise. He always admired that about her, since a lot of people just listened to say stuff back. He would never admit it, but Thalia was one of the most intuitive people that he knew. And so he was kind of glad to have someone like his sister to talk to about this right now.

"All right Jason. This is going to be weird coming from me, but hear me out. Beryl— _Mom_ —does care about us okay? I know she has a… an interesting way of showing it, and it's hard to believe sometimes. But I want you to remember that she'll always care about us."

"How can you say that, when even you don't even believe it too?"

"I know, and that's why I said it's weird coming from me all right? And her and I have our own thing going on that doesn't concern this situation. But what I'm telling you is that she does care. One of these days she'll come to her senses and she'll understand that you don't want to live the life that she planned for you. She'll freaking hate it at first—heh, and I wanna be there the day that happens. Ha, that'll be the time of my life! Oh right anyways, as I was saying. You're her kid and she'll get over it eventually. She'll get over herself."

He didn't think that was possible. At the same time, he was still mad at his mom, which probably put him in this unforgiveable disposition.

"Sometimes it doesn't seem like that Thalia," he confessed.

"She does though. I promise you. Now don't even worry about Beryl okay? I'll take care of her. You just do what you need to do and take care of yourself. Be happy. Don't worry Jason. I'll always be on your side, even if you're an annoying little idiot."

Good ol' Thalia reared her sharp-tongued head once more, but it just made him smile. "Whatever Thalia. And thanks for calling me. I know Mom made you talk to me to hopefully set me straight, but then again. I have no idea why she'd ask _you_ to help me."

Thalia laughed. "Yeah, I guess I was her last resort. Exploded back in her face huh? Anyways, I have to go. Oh, and really quick. I actually plan on coming down some time this month."

"Really?" Jason said, trying not to show his excitement. "What day, so I know when to avoid you?"

"Smart ass. Now I won't tell you anything. And when I come home… heh, heh, heh…"

"Bye Thals."

"See you little bro!" A soft click on the other end and Thalia was gone.

The phone call cheered Jason up a little bit, especially when she said she was coming home. He kind of hope she'd stick around for a while. Feeling a little more upbeat and getting a sense of his surroundings, he discovered that he had inadvertently traveled close to Piper's house. He decided to continue walking towards Piper's house to see if she wanted to hang out. Thankfully it wasn't too late with the sun still above the horizon. Maybe they could get something to eat, since there was still a fat chance of him not going home for dinner.

The walk was another ten minutes from where he was, but it wasn't long before he finally reached her quaint, little house. It was a whimsical house with an even lovelier garden. Jason was always captivated by the scenery, seeing the perfectly shaped rosebushes with the most vibrant flowers he's ever seen. There was a huge tree that provided shade for most of the garden, with a picturesque swing on one side of the trunk and a small bird bath on the opposite side. The bird bath was surrounded by luscious lily plants, and Jason had the opportunity to actually witness a bird dipping its brown and blue plumage in the crystal clear water. The walk way was lined with those cheap plastic lanterns that anyone would find at a department store, but also lining the walkway and in between the lanterns were blue flowers that twinkled out of small bushes. It was definitely an amazing garden, something out of a fairy tale, and he told himself to compliment the person that was usually in charge of maintaining the front lawn.

Knocking on the door, Jason waited patiently outside. There was a car on the driveway, so Jason figured someone was home at least. A few minutes had passed and Jason knocked once more, just in case his first knock wasn't loud enough.

Finally, Mellie opened the door halfway, but for some reason, she had a sad smile on her face. "Why hello Jason. What brings you here?"

"I came here to see if Piper wanted to hang out. Maybe go grab a bite to eat."

"Oh, well I don't think she's too hungry my dear. She's not in the mood to eat."

That was kind of an odd thing to say. "Why not?"

Mellie was quiet for a moment, deliberating whether or not to disclose more information to her guest about what was going on. But Jason got the hint, and it only made him worried. "Mellie is something wrong with Piper?" He tried to peek inside, as if Piper was just on the other side, but the door was obstructing most of the view.

"She's having a really bad day," Mellie said.

"Really? Can I go inside? I'd like to cheer her up," Jason said, hoping Piper's guardian would let him in. Thankfully, she nodded her head and let him inside the house. She walked with him to Piper's room, where both of them faintly heard sniffles from the other side.

"I hope you can cheer her up," Mellie whispered. "I tried to, but nothing's working right now."

Jason whispered back a thanks before Mellie disappeared down the hallway. Jason stood outside her door, not exactly knowing what was going on. Perhaps he should have asked her guardian what the matter was first, but he it was too late considering she was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he then realized that maybe he shouldn't even be here at all if this was a personal moment. But if Piper needed someone, he knew for certain that he wanted to be that person. So with renewed courage he gingerly opened up the door to see Piper lying in a supine position, her face covered by a pillow with her arms draped over the downy item. He studied the rhythmic pattern of deep breathing and saw that it was a futile attempt in calming down. There were a bunch of tissues on the floor next to her bed which indicated that she must've been crying for a long time.

He carefully crossed the room, still trying to strategize on how to properly approach her. Once he reached her bed, he succumbed to the fact that there really wasn't one. He wished that he could just take her pain away with a simple touch. Knowing it was now or never, Jason tentatively placed his hand on her shuddering shoulder. As soon as there was contact, the attempt to relax had ceased as her entire body froze. Then with slow movement, she removed her pillow until finally her moist, colorful eyes met his own lightning blue ones. An array of emotions flooded her eyes. There was the initial shock of simply acknowledging his presence. It quickly turned into confusion, obviously wondering how he could possibly be in her room. And then her usually bright eyes that held the energy of a sun contorted into shame; her face getting more flushed than it already was. The underlying sadness was always there. She tried to hide her weakness of crying by rubbing her face, as if she was trying to scrub away her embarrassment. It was no use though, because he had already seen her in this state and he didn't think that she needed to stop crying if that's what would help her. And so he asked, "Piper, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she attempted lamely. But that only received a skeptical and slightly scolding look from Jason. So she sighed knowing it was no use to fool him, and sat up straighter to prepare herself for their conversation. If he already saw her at her most vulnerable, the least she could do was try to feel dignified. "My dad was supposed to come home, but now I just found out he can't make it anymore."

"Why?"

"Because he got… tied up with work," she explained, still highly unsure if she should tell him that her dad was a world-famous actor.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that," Jason sincerely said.

Piper grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. "It's just, I thought he was going to keep his word this time you know? And I thought it was going to happen because we had planned this trip for months and up until now nothing came up. But a week before he comes, he drops this bombshell and you know what's worse? It was his assistant Jane that told me. He couldn't even spare a minute to tell me face to face. It hurts, Jason. I'm so disappointed… Family isn't supposed to disappoint you. Not like this."

Her tears continued to fall, and she felt a little comforted once she felt Jason place an arm around her shoulder, validating her feelings in soothing tones. She was warmed by his attempt to make her feel better, but there was still a lonely ache in her heart that only kids with absent parents understood.

While she was crying, Jason thought about his own family and how her situation was close to home. He knew what it was like to feel like your parents didn't care about you. It was rough, and it was something no one should experience. But knowing Piper's situation now, it made him respect her tenfold. She was very strong and brave, more than people gave her credit for, and he realized he didn't want her to make her feel alone. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

He took a deep breath, letting out the tension he felt about his family that he had been holding back for a long, long time. "I think I know how you feel."

"You do?" she said, surprised.

"Yeah… I do." And so Jason told her everything. How his dad was a multi-millionaire living in Seattle and barely coming home from work. How his mom used to be humble but ever since their family became rich, she became obsessed with money and attention. He even unburied one of his deepest secrets: how she had almost destroyed his life and his sister's life by bragging to everyone how rich they were and some friends had even stopped hanging out with them because they assumed they would change and be rich snobs. That was the beginning of Thalia's rebellion against their mother—the distrust only began to manifest into an incurable hatred that slowly poisoned their mother-daughter relationship. He felt pressured to live the life his mom idealized, and that he felt disappointed that his dad barely remembered him no matter what Jason did to impress him and hopefully convince him to come home more often. And then he spoke about his sister Thalia, and how sad he was when she decided to move out to attend college; leaving him behind in a big house that felt completely vacant. He told her that he never mentioned any of this to anyone else, not even Leo who he had known since they were kids. Everyone looked at him like he had this life where there were no mistakes, issues, or regrets, and he hated it. It was too overwhelming. He shouldn't have to feel this way about his parents, but he did. If there was disappointment, he was someone that was too familiar with it.

The once-crying teenager was amazed with everything that was revealed to her. She had never met anyone that remotely understood even a sliver of her life. Her case was deemed a special circumstance, and she thought that she would never find someone that could know what she's going through. Annabeth and Hazel tried their hardest to understand, and Piper loved them for it. But listening to Jason made Piper realize again how much she yearned to know someone with familiar situations. She knows what it was like to be bullied. And how hard it was to be separated from parents. She knew the loneliness all too well.

Suddenly, it came to her. This was the moment Piper accepted the fact that she felt more than just a silly pretend crush on Jason Grace. He was someone that she could imagine being with for a while, someone she felt more physically attracted to beyond the kissing. He was someone that made her feel all kinds of beautiful. She knew that he was the kind of guy that any girl as lucky as her hoped to ever meet. He was handsome, smart, funny, talented, loyal, above all… just… wonderful.

Her epiphany grew into bashfulness, now acutely wondering how exactly he felt about _her._ She didn't know if now was the time to tell him how she felt. In fact, she wondered if she should even bring it up. She had told herself countless times not to get involved with anyone for a while; that this was a good moment for her to be single and reflect on what she wanted in life. Plus, she also knew that there was someone in his past—this Reyna girl. Piper didn't know who she was, and was not about to drive a wrench between two people that clearly had something to talk about. Piper decided to remain silent. It was maybe best not to tell him her feelings, and she probably would not have been ready for it anyways.

But she was ready to open up to him.

"Jason. I have to tell you something too," Piper said.

Jason held her gaze, letting her know that she had his full attention.

 _Here it goes,_ Piper thought to herself, bracing for something she never thought she'd do. "My dad… well, he's um. He's Tristan McLean."

"Tristan McLean… as in—"

"Yeah. The actor. The one that starred in one of the highest grossing movies of all time, _King of Sparta._ And the one that's going to star in the newest superhero movie. And probably will star in more movies to come."

Piper would've stopped right there, already feeling the bitterness overcome rational thought. But Jason's encouraging eyes made her brave enough to continue. "My dad used to be a lesser-known actor, getting small gigs here and there. In fact, that was how he met my mom. Because back before he even pursued acting, he had to work at a TV program where she happened to be interviewed. Erm… my mom's also a… runway model so she was on TV for that." She tried not to flinch at the surprise that quickly overtook Jason's features. She appreciated the fact that it was brief. "Anyways… my dad and I were so close. My mom was always doing her job so my dad basically had to take care of me. It was the greatest time of my life, because… he was my best friend. And then when I was twelve, he landed the role in _King of Sparta,_ and I don't think even _he_ knew how big of deal it was going to be. His career just skyrocketed after that, and he was just this new sensation. He still _is_ a sensation. Back in Malibu, I eventually kept getting followed by paparazzi and annoying reporters. It wasn't long before people in school found out about my dad. I was hoping that it wouldn't change my life, but it did. I… I always got bullied at my old school, because people just started assuming I was better than them when I never thought that at all. Even the people I thought were my friends… they ended up being the ones hurting me the most. I eventually convinced my parents to move elsewhere, because it just wouldn't stop. And so we came here to New Rome. That's why I always stayed low in school. I just… I didn't wanna have to go through that again you know?"

Jason nodded his head, squeezing her hand for her to go on. Piper's lips started to tremble, as she got to the root of her sadness. "The worst thing about this is that my dad isn't here anymore. He tries to be but... It wasn't bad at first. I'd get to see him on weekends, and what not. And then the days just started disappearing until I wouldn't even see him months at a time. In the end, he was just so busy. He ended up having to hire a personal assistant named Jane to help with scheduling but she's just this awful person who doesn't give a rat's ass about me. And my dad doesn't do anything about it because he's just so caught up with work. So caught up that… he doesn't visit me as much as he promises. We were supposed to have three whole days together. Just me and him. We were planning this for _months._ I… I got my hopes up this time. I was so positive he was going to come. He was… he was supposed to come next weekend," she sniffled, remembering the bad news all over again.

"I feel stupid, actually. This is the time where a lot of teenagers just wanna do their own thing and aren't really paying attention to their parents. It's not bad that they're feeling this way, because it's such a good time to experience life and be independent. But sometimes, I get jealous of how people just get to go to their moms and dads at home. Annabeth and Hazel try not to talk too much about how difficult their parents can be, because they know I might get sad. And I do, but I try to be there for them. It's just… they don't know how lucky they are. It's hard to really grasp it until your own parents aren't there."

She sighed, not knowing what else to say.

Jason stayed silent, reeling it all in. It was a lot of information, but he didn't feel anything different towards her. He only felt empathy, and grateful that he also now had someone to confide to. And from what Piper said, it got him thinking. His mom may be difficult… but his talk with Piper gave him the ability to be more forgiving again. At least his mom had stayed here. And at least he had Thalia; he was more than lucky to have someone like her for a sister. He wished that Piper had someone like that. "Pipes?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

She cocked an eyebrow. "What for?"

 _For being amazing. For being brave. For trusting me with something that obviously is important to you. For sharing your life with me._ "… For being my friend."

Then she smiled genuinely, making her face light up and enchant him all over again. His kind words made her hold him tighter, not knowing that Jason wished to say more than just those four words.


	7. Chapter 7

Percy Jackson doesn't belong to me, but Uncle Rick.

 **Chapter 7:**

"Finally! Test is done-zo," Hazel said as she relaxed back against the oak tree. It was a lovely day during the fall season, with the sun finally gracing New Rome and its inhabitants with its much-needed warmth.

"It was pretty hard," Piper replied, hoping that she did better than how she currently felt about it. Like a fool, she didn't study too much for her French exam thinking she had it down to a tee. Only to have multiple questions she didn't know the answer to at all.

"Should've studied," Annabeth called out from her spot on the picnic table. Piper just glowered in retaliation.

The girls were currently waiting for the rest of the group to show up at their usual hang out spot. But each one of them had a quick meeting to go to regarding their respective sports, leaving the girls some quality time to themselves.

Piper never told them about what had happened the day before. Yesterday's cry fest between Jason and herself was constantly on her mind, which was why she did a bit more poorly than usual on her French test. While she usually would tell her best mates right away, she decided that this was something that should be kept secret instead, since she liked having something like this that was only between her and Jason. Plus, she also knew his secret and she didn't dare reveal it to anyone because it was obvious he trusted her.

Aside from that… Piper was itching to tell them her feelings about Jason. She felt like she had been in constant disorder figuring out if she liked him, if she wanted to be something more with him, or even if she should be. Yesterday she had decided to damn it all to hell and just _feel._ Just feel the butterflies in her stomach whenever she thinks about him, or the way his smile affects her day, or the way he values and appreciates her. She almost chuckled to herself, thinking that she sounded just like her whimsical mother. If she were her mom, she would've been with Jason a long time ago. Piper used to think decisions like that were hasty and irrational, but then not all good decisions were made with thoughtfulness, were they? Sometimes people just took a leap of faith—that's what her parents had done.

"Piper? What did you get on #2 for Ms. Iris' assignment?"

Piper turned her attention to Annabeth who had been glossing over her worksheet that was due last period. Annabeth had a slight pout, worried that she may have gotten something wrong.

"Oh, my homework is in my locker. Let me go get it."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Annabeth said, never erasing the nervous crease in her brow.

But Piper insisted that she get it, since one wrong answer would literally ruin Annabeth's day. Gods forbid that happened, and so Piper took it upon herself to spare the misery for everyone. Besides, Piper needed the walk. Gave her time to think.

Her locker was located across campus though, on the side of an outdoor hallway that led to the track field. So it did take her a solid five minutes to get there, and then rummage through the crammed papers to find the one she needed. She slammed her locker shut with homework in hand, and proceeded to head back to her friends, hoping Annabeth hadn't had a mental meltdown by then. But something made her halt in her tracks. A certain brown-haired someone with a seemingly easy-going smile that she had never wanted to see again. He was leaning casually against the locker in his brown leather jacket, his favorite Cowboys jersey tucked underneath it. He was surrounded by two of his goons—one skinny, pale boy that Piper identified as Octavian, and a lean-built Asian who always wore a scowl on his face; Piper had only met him a couple of times, but she recognized him as Ethan Nakamura. Piper didn't know what they were talking about since they had looked like they were in the middle of a conversation, but Piper suspected that this run-in wasn't circumstantial. Because as soon as he spotted her, he flashed his infamous 100-watt smile that would've made any girl in this school swoon over him; and the wicked gleam in his eye suggested that he had probably followed her this whole time. Piper immediately felt guarded.

"Hey babe," Dylan pushed himself off the lockers, never getting rid of his smile. His two friends turned around to glance at her, and they adopted the same smirk on their faces.

Not ten seconds had passed and Piper's uneasiness was quickly replaced with sheer disgust. How she dated someone as arrogant as him, she'll never know. And to have his flunkies there too to make him seem like he had a bigger presence? She knew he probably tried to scare her, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Not bothering to even spare him a glance, she tried to walk pass them but he had effectively stopped her whenever she tried to side step him.

"Where are you going? Aw don't tell me you're still mad at me," Dylan pouted.

She looked him dead in the eye, intending on finishing this. "Dylan, I'm not going to talk to you. Ever. I'm leaving."

"I get it, it's my fault we're not together and I admit it. I never should've cheated on you Piper. It was wrong and selfish. Especially with Drew. She never could've compared to you," Dylan confessed, knowing what he was saying was true. After all, Piper was much hotter than Drew, and he only imagined how Piper would've been if she was willing to go all the way with him.

"That's nice, but I don't give two craps about your apology, because I don't care about you," Piper told him, angry that his apology was even as half-assed as his entire personality. She again tried to get pass him, but his two friends had effectively blocked her path. Her heart started to thump loudly, feeling her blood swish and swirl.

"But I still care about you babe," Dylan said, looking at her almost guiltily. Piper knew better, but seeing her surroundings, she started to realize that there was no way they were going to let her leave without a show of force.

Piper cursed herself, realizing that she had left her phone back at the table with her friends, cutting off her main contact. There was no one around either, since it was lunch time and there was no way that students would be near any lockers or classrooms, especially on a clear sunny day like today. Dylan and them seem to know this too, because they started chuckling as if they got a kick out of her increasing desperation. And desperate she was, because she tried to shove them aside more forcefully than before in an attempt to get away from them.

But Ethan had grabbed her by the arm and casted her back in front of Dylan. She was so affronted with the way she was handled, that she had slapped Ethan across the face without a second thought. The sharp crack echoed through the hallway, and Octavian took a step back in surprise. Ethan slowly brought his attention back to Piper, his face contorted in anger. He took one step toward Piper, but surprisingly, Dylan held an arm in front of him and laughed.

Dylan was a bit surprised from Piper's outburst, but he mostly felt a swell of pride. He was attracted to this feistiness since he had only seen her as timid and shy; this admittedly made him want Piper even more. Ethan squawked in protest, but the main leader just glared at him. "Why don't you two take a walk. Don't worry, I think I can handle my girl."

"Piss off Dylan," Piper seethed.

He just smiled as if she was a little kid that said something cute. He nodded for them to go away and Octavian dragged an upset Ethan down the hall and into a corner out of sight.

It was a moment of silence between them, giving Piper a bit of time to think of an escape route. She was pretty sure that Octavian and Ethan were gone, since they usually gave Dylan privacy whenever he wanted. And now she only had to deal with one idiot to get around, though he was the person she dreaded being alone with the most. She eyed him, noticing that he was waiting on her to say something. He probably wanted to hear what she had to say, so that he could find a way to rip it apart and make her feel small again. Piper clenched her fist. At this point, she didn't give a shit. She decided that she was going to talk her way out of this, hoping that he had a heart somewhere and would just let her be.

"Dylan, leave it. I don't care if you don't like it or not, but we're over," she started saying.

Dylan shook his head, not accepting it. "No Piper, we're not over. I care about you, and I want to make things right. I want to have the chance again to prove to you that I'm the boyfriend that you need. That you deserve."

"It's too late. You had a chance and you blew it. I was stupid to ever think that we could work out, but at least now I know better. You don't care about me, and that's fine. But don't think that I care about you."

He narrowed his eyes, not liking what he was hearing. Piper had usually fallen for his words without effort, like it was a secret soft spot for her. So he tried another tactic, something that usually worked with all his past conquests. "I promise to give you anything you want. Clothes, jewelry, anything in the world. You name it babe."

Piper scoffed, thinking he was even more lame for not have even knowing a sliver of who she really was during their relationship. "You think that'll work Dylan? You think I'm the type of girl that only cares about fancy, expensive things? I'm not into that stuff, nor will I ever be." She dared to take a small step forward, so that she was still out of reach of him, but close enough so that he could understand every single word she was saying whether he liked it or not. Her eyes, which usually sparkled with happiness, instead were cold and unforgiving. Her hands were clenched, just dying to uppercut him for subjecting her to this conversation. She stood firm. "I don't like you. I'll never go back to you, because you're despicable. I don't deserve to have someone like you. I deserve someone who treats me with respect, loves me for who I am no matter what I do or look, and cares about me. You never fit those categories, nor do I even believe you'd be deserving of a person in general. Now I'm telling you to leave me alone, or else you're just wasting your damn time trying to get me back."

With that, Piper shoved him aside easily this time, as Dylan stared at her wide-eyed and her words had actually let his guard down for a bit. He never had a girl tell him off, and Piper was one of the last girls he would have expected it from. He didn't know Piper had that kind of strength within her, and the knowledge of this turned his pretty features into a deep scowl.

As she was walking away, she heard him call out. "Because you think who you deserve is Jason Grace right? That chump you're dating now? You think he even loves you? Don't make me laugh. We all know that you're just a rebound to his ex-girlfriend Reyna. Jason could never measure up to me Piper, you better remember that."

His words halted her. She turned around, so that her menacing look was pointed directly at him. She tried to control her breathing, since she felt an all-consuming anger when he dared to mention Jason. It didn't matter anymore that she met Jason to make a point to Dylan. She didn't give a damn that her relationship with him started off as fake. Jason was a reason why she was happy now. He was the reason why she started to feel beautiful again. He was her rock when she needed someone the most. He had proved above and beyond how capable he was of being a good person, and it pissed Piper off to think that Dylan could diss him like that.

"You aren't even in the same league as Jason Grace. Comparing yourself to him is a waste of time. Because you'll never even hold a damn candle to him."

Dylan let out a growl as he started storming towards Piper. "You're going to regret saying that."

But all of a sudden, he was intercepted by none other than the blue-eyed boy that had captured Piper's heart. Jason stood in front of Piper, his arms crossed and his foul gaze casted at Dylan. It looked like he towered over Dylan, with his tall height, muscular build almost blocking Piper's sight from her ex-boyfriend. Jason's expression looked like it could kill, as his frown was etched into his usually calm features and his narrowed eyes bore onto Dylan. Piper had no idea how he knew to come here, but she couldn't have been more grateful for his arrival.

"Leave her alone." Jason said, his voice low and filled with anger.

Dylan just smirked. "Well look who it is. Mr. Perfect Jason Grace. You would try to get with this whor—"

Before the rest of the word was finished, Dylan was shoved back by Jason. Dylan looked at him incredulously, not believing his "goody-two-shoes" enemy had the audacity to lay a finger on him. But it soon vanished as Dylan easily regained his footing and the two men started to swing at each other.

"Stop!" Piper had yelled, desperate to stop the fight. She didn't want Jason to get hurt, but her cries landed on deft ears.

Soon there were a couple of people that happened to walk by and see the fight, so they hurriedly ran to see the spectacle. They were furiously texting on their phones, obviously trying to alert their friends that there was a fight occurring in the usually peaceful school. Then within a matter of seconds, more people showed up to check out Jason and Dylan.

"Damn it, stop!" Piper tried to get in between them, without getting hurt herself. She gasped as Jason clocked Dylan in the jaw and again on the eye, with nasty-looking bruises already forming on his face. But Dylan managed to also punch him back, cutting Jason's cheek. This only made Jason angrier and more ferocious, as his punches to Dylan's face and torso landed more easily. All around them, people were cheering, not exactly caring who won or lost as long as they had a good show. Piper tried to tell the audience to scram, but it was hard to do while failing miserably to stop the fight. For a brief moment, Piper wondered where their teachers were at, but she knew it was a good thing they hadn't come because a fight would've been an automatic suspension for Jason and Dylan wasn't worth getting in trouble over. These risks though obviously didn't occur to the two boys as they kept punching each other, though Jason obviously had the upper hand. While Jason looked like he could go another twelve rounds, Dylan was worse for wear. Even Dylan couldn't stop him now, with his fighting style become more defensive. Finally, Jason fiercely punched him squarely on the nose, Dylan staggering backwards and landing on his ass to the floor. "Please stop Jason!" Piper yelled. His name broke him out of his trance, and his vision became less red and more pronounced of his friend's worried look.

Then as if her prayers were answered, Leo appeared and took hold of Jason, even though he didn't need the restraint anymore. Piper's horrified face was like an immediate tranquilizer for him, though now he felt completely ashamed for getting completely out of hand. "Piper…" she winced as her name was called, making Jason's heart drop.

Everyone else came one-by-one as well, as Piper was soon being bombarded by Annabeth and Hazel asking her if she was okay. She just nodded her head, finally remaining quiet after what felt like hours of screaming for her. Ethan and Octavian showed up too, but they were more concerned about their leader lying bloodied on the hallway floor.

"Break this up," Leo demanded his friends, who began to shoo the crowd away in an instant. When Leo knew for sure that Jason had calmed down, he released his hold on his best friend, but still stood beside him just in case he did anything else.

Dylan, while obviously defeated and tired, kept trying to taunt Jason into fighting more, but Jason knew better. It was bad enough that he stooped down to this level, but he wouldn't repeat the same mistake again. Still, Jason couldn't help but have a lack of regret for kicking his ass… Piper's pathetic excuse for an ex-boyfriend had hurt her before and tried to hurt her again, this time even physically. For that, Jason would _never_ regret protecting her and he knew he would do the same thing in a heartbeat.

A few stragglers of the crowd remained, hoping the fight would continue after Dylan's jeering. To effectively get rid of them, Annabeth barked for them to leave. None of them wanted to get on anyone's bad side, especially Annabeth who looked ready to claw anyone's eyes out if they even stayed a second longer. It also helped that everyone else in the group could kick some serious ass too. So they scattered easily until they were out of sight.

"What's the matter Jason? Too much… of a pansy to finish this?" Dylan kept saying, even though he looked like complete shit. His two friends had tried to keep him quiet, but that seemed to only make Dylan more stubborn.

Jason rolled his eyes, not caring about this guy anymore. Instead, he turned his full attention to Piper, who still looked really terrified. He didn't like how nervous she looked, so he smiled slightly at her to let her know he was fine. Piper eventually returned the gesture tentatively and sighed in relief, glad that he wasn't harmed and in trouble.

"Stay away from her Grace," Dylan growled. "We know you don't really give a crap about her. She's probably just another play thing to you, just like how any other boy sees her."

Jason automatically stepped towards Dylan, but refrained from beating him up. Instead, he sighed irritably and said, "You're a loser. I care more about Piper than you ever had. You're going to see her around, and see just how much I'm willing to make her happy. She's more to me than a girlfriend. She's…" Jason paused. He almost admitted something that he hadn't even told a soul yet. It was something that even he was confused about, until this moment when he defended her. The thing was… "She's the most important person in my life."

Piper looked at him with wide eyes, feeling her heart melt from his proclamation. He quickly glanced at her, smiling softly, before turning his attention back to her ex-boyfriend. "Back off Dylan. If I catch you around her, I'll shove your own head up your ass."

He grabbed Piper and they started to walk away before Dylan could say anything else, but Piper being Piper, stopped him and went to Annabeth. Smiling sheepishly, Piper held up a slightly crumpled worksheet in her hand, having kept the assignment safe and sound throughout the entire ordeal. "Um… here's the homework assignment. And I put Babylon as an answer. I'll see you in class…" Annabeth grinned, expecting her weirdo best friend to always keep her word and remember something as pointless as her minor favor.

Without another word, Jason and Piper walked away. "Hey Jason?" Piper said, as she squeezed Jason's hand. "Thanks. For sticking up for me."

Both of them stopped, because Jason wanted to make sure he had her full attention. She looked at him expectantly, her eyes piqued with interest and swimming with different colors of the rainbow. "Of course. I would do anything for you Piper. Anything..." 'For my _girlfriend_ ,' he wanted to add. He looked at her intently, wishing that he had the courage to say it, and accepting for the first time how much he wanted to be something more. That what he felt for her was now beyond pretending, and how he didn't know if he could even go back to that. He never thought about someone the way he does with her now, and he realized that this… this was how it's supposed to be like. This kind of electric feeling that shocked him, energized him, and pulsated throughout his body. He… had really fallen for Piper McLean.

"Did you really mean what you said… That I was important to you?" She asked, more soundlessly this time.

He smiled, kissing her tenderly on the lips as a response.

Hand in hand, they walked away towards their next class with smiles on their faces. Not noticing the Mexican brunette standing in a concealed corner, who had witnessed the entire thing.


End file.
